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A little over five months ago, Chelsea began the season with a solid 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town. The first official game of the Sarriball Era was in the books, and it was good.
Fast forward to today, and things are less good. Out of the top four and seemingly out of ideas. Another winter of discontent.
And so, it’s a must win against the worst team in the league. Anything less than three points is practically unthinkable.
Date / Time: Saturday, February 2, 2019, 15:00 GMT; 10am EST; 8:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Paul Tierney — Tierney made his Chelsea debut earlier this year away to Newcastle. He’s been a regular in the Premier League since, and unlike some of the older driftwood, he’s not afraid of a yellow card (only Mike Dean has handed out more).
Forecast: Cold and breezy
Streaming online: NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Hotstar (India); Chelsea TV (audio commentary only — int’l); Fubo TV (affiliate link — USA only)
Chelsea team news: The Blues’ clean bill of health is no longer clean with the news that Antonio Rüdiger has picked up a minor knee injury. Chelsea should not need the best center back in the squad for this match, especially with a murderers row of opponents coming up the rest of the month.
Huddersfield Town team news: Philip Billing looks to have come through training unscathed, so he’s likely to feature. A few others are out.
Outside of a three-week period in November, when the Terriers won twice and drew once, they have lost 19 of 23 games in all competitions, including crashing out of both cups at the first hurdle. They are historically bad, as far as Premier League teams are concerned.
Previously: First match of the season, happier times.