Chelsea hit by absences

Chelsea are without a number of players for their opening Barclays Premier League clash with Hull at Stamford Bridge.

New signing Yuri Zhirkov is out with a knee injury, while Juliano Belletti (Achilles) and defender Alex (groin) are also set to miss out.

Joe Cole (knee) and Paulo Ferreira (knee) are back in training but the fixture comes too soon for the pair.

Team (from): Cech, Turnbull, Hilario, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Carvalho, A Cole, Ballack, Sturridge, Mikel, Deco, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba, Sturridge, Kalou, Malouda, Essien.