Chelsea head to the MKM Stadium on Friday for an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Hull City, with Liam Rosenior returning to face the club that dismissed him less than two years ago. The Blues are looking to avoid a second successive exit at this stage after last season’s defeat to Brighton, while Hull aim to upset top-flight opposition and extend their first meaningful cup run since 2020.

History heavily favours the visitors. Hull have not beaten Chelsea since 1988, a 3-0 second-division victory, and have failed to win any of the subsequent 16 meetings, avoiding defeat just twice in that span. The Tigers are also on an eight-match losing streak against the London side, including domestic cup eliminations in 2018 and 2020. Although they reached this round after a penalty shootout win over Blackburn and had strung together four consecutive victories, recent home results — a 0-0 draw with Watford and a 3-2 loss to Bristol City — have stalled their momentum.

Sergej Jakirovic’s Championship side remain in playoff contention and will look to leading scorers Oli McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt for attacking output, while Ryan Giles provides consistent delivery from left-back. However, injuries have disrupted their squad, with Semi Ajayi, Mohamed Belloumi, Cody Drameh, Darko Gyabi, Matts Crooks and Eliot Matazo all unavailable.

Chelsea arrive with stronger overall form despite a midweek 2-2 draw with Leeds. Rosenior has overseen seven wins in 10 matches across all competitions, stabilising performances even if consistency remains imperfect. Since reaching three straight FA Cup finals between 2020 and 2022, Chelsea’s record has fluctuated, but squad depth and attacking quality remain significant advantages at this level. Rotation is expected, with players such as Delap, Garnacho, Hato and Fofana likely to start, while several minor injury concerns will be assessed before kickoff.

The gap in quality, depth and pace in forward areas should define the contest. Hull may compete physically and look to exploit wide areas, but over 90 minutes Chelsea’s attacking options are likely to create decisive separation.

切尔西将于周五在MKM球场与赫尔城进行足总杯第四轮的比赛，利亚姆·罗希尔将再次面对两年前解雇他的俱乐部。蓝军希望避免在上赛季输给布莱顿后连续第二次出局，而赫尔城的目标是击败顶级对手，延长他们自2020年以来第一次有意义的杯赛。

历史对游客非常有利。赫尔城自1988年乙级联赛3-0战胜切尔西后就再未击败过切尔西，之后的16次交锋中，赫尔城一场也没赢过，在此期间只有两次避免了失败。老虎队在对阵伦敦队的比赛中也遭遇了8连败，包括2018年和2020年的国内杯出局。尽管他们在点球大战中战胜布莱克本，并取得了四连胜，但最近的主场战绩——0-0战平沃特福德和3-2负于布里斯托尔城——阻碍了他们的势头。

谢尔盖·贾基洛维奇的冠军球队仍然在季后赛的争夺中，他们将依靠头号得分手奥利·麦克伯尼和乔·盖尔哈特来进攻，而瑞安·贾尔斯则在左后卫位置提供稳定的传球。然而，伤病打乱了他们的阵容，阿贾伊、贝卢米、德拉梅、贾比、克鲁克斯和马塔佐都无法上场。

尽管周中2-2战平利兹联，但切尔西的整体状态更强。罗希尔在所有赛事的10场比赛中取得了7场胜利，即使稳定性仍然不完美，他的表现也很稳定。自2020年至2022年连续三次进入足总杯决赛以来，切尔西的战绩有所波动，但阵容深度和进攻质量仍然是足总杯决赛的显著优势。预计会有轮换，德拉普、加纳乔、哈托和福法纳等球员可能会首发，而一些轻微的伤病将在开球前进行评估。

在前场的质量、深度和速度上的差距应该决定这场比赛。赫尔城可能会进行身体对抗，并寻求利用广阔的区域，但在90分钟内，切尔西的进攻选择可能会造成决定性的分离。