Premier League Test Starts Now for Maurizio Sarri

Huddersfield Town vs Chelsea

Antonio Conte lasted only two seasons at Chelsea despite delivering a Premier League trophy and a FA Cup title. Blues fans are hoping his replacement, Maurizio Sarri, will last longer.

Sarri, who took over the club from Conte this summer, is set to have his first taste of English top-flight action when they visit Huddersfield Town for their opening game of the 2018/19 Premier League season. And sure enough, expectations are high for the former Napoli boss to impress and make a winning start to his Chelsea career.

However, with Sarri’s star players unlikely to start following the post-World Cup break, beating a Huddersfield team might prove trickier than it appears.

Talking Points

Sarri had a brilliant season with Napoli in the Serie A last year, guiding the team to a runner-up finish after going toe-to-toe with Italian heavyweights Juventus for much of the season. While the 59-year-old manager isn’t expected to contend for the EPL title this campaign, it should be remembered that a top-four place is the minimum acceptable result for a club like Chelsea.

After all, the Blues ended up fifth last season and, poof, Conte was gone—though there’s more to it than just the team’s performance.

With that said, Sarri knows for a fact he needs to produce results quickly. And there’s no better way to do that and make a statement than by winning their opening game.

As mentioned above, though, it won’t be as easy as it sounds for Sarri and Chelsea. Not with Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud seemingly not ready yet to play a competitive football game.

The trio, who were coming off a month-long break after their World Cup duties, featured as second-half substitutes for the Blues in their International Champions Cup match with Lyon. After the game, Sarri admitted that it would be difficult for Hazard, Kante and Giroud to face Huddersfield due to lack of fitness.

Furthermore, as reported in recent Premier League 2018 news, Chelsea sold Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid for €35 million. Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic was also sent to Stamford Bridge on a season-long loan as part of the transaction, but the 24-year-old is unlikely to feature against Huddersfield given the short time he has following his extended vacation.

The good news for Chelsea is that they already have a replacement for Courtois in Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was bought from Athletic Bilbao for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper. Arrizabalaga is lined up against Huddersfield to fill the void left by the Belgian No.1 between the sticks.

Premier League club Chelsea will open the season without Thibaut Courtois who recently joined Real Madrid — Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois during the semi-final match between France and Belgium at the 2018 World Cup

Huddersfield, on the other hand, should pose a huge challenge after being one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer window. They made seven signings this summer, including handing permanent deals to loanees Jonas Lossl (from Mainz 05) and Terence Kongolo (from AS Monaco).

Former Monaco forward Adama Diakhaby also arrived at John Smith’s Stadium to bolster the Terriers’ frontline that boasts Steve Mounie, Australia international Aaron Mooy and Rajiv van La Parra.

Huddersfield barely escaped relegation last year, but that should only fuel the fire inside David Wagner’s men to perform better and ensure they won’t be in the relegation dogfight this time around.

History

Huddersfield failed to beat Chelsea in their two Premier League meetings last season, losing one and drawing the other. The Blues won against the Terriers 3-1 in their game at John Smith’s last December, but Huddersfield bounced back and played a 1-1 stalemate at Stamford Bridge five months later to ensure their safety in the top flight.

Overall, the two teams have played 66 times—Chelsea winning 29, Huddersfield 27 and 10 ending in a draw. The Blues, however, are unbeaten in their last eight league meetings with the West Yorkshire side with five wins and three draws.

Moreover, Chelsea last lost against Huddersfield in 1963.

Interestingly, while Chelsea haven’t lost in Huddersfield’s turf in four straight league matches, the Terriers have never lost five consecutive home matches to a single opponent.

It’s also worth noting that Huddersfield won their first two games in the 2017/18 Premier League campaign and even went top of the table after Week 1.

Betting Tip

	Huddersfield Town vs Chelsea	First Half 1X2 Draw @ 2.22
	August 11, 22:00 (GMT+8)

The SBOBET Premier League page have Chelsea as the overwhelming favourites to win this game, thanks to the depth and quality of their squad. However, as discussed, it’s still not sure if their star players will start and we all know how they play without their main men (case on point: their 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Community Shield).

With that said, I expect both teams to try to establish a rhythm first in the early proceedings and start off slow with not much attacking.

I do predict Chelsea to win the match and make sense of the Premier League 2018 odds, but I have them finding the net and winning it midway through the second half in a low-scoring affair.