MIDDLESBROUGH suffered FA Cup disappointment against Aston Villa on Saturday. And they welcome another Premier League heavyweight on Tuesday when Chelsea visit in the semi-final, first leg of the Carabao Cup.
Boro ran Villa close on Saturday night, but eventually bowed out after a 1-0 defeat thanks to a late goal from Matty Cash.
Chelsea know they will face a similar battle and it should be even tighter if the table is anything to go by because Villa are 14 points better off than Chelsea.
Michael Carrick's men have already seen off five teams to get to the last four of the competition they won 20 years ago. Although it's not be sniffed at when a Championship side reaches the semi-final, Boro have enjoyed a pretty favourable draw with Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers, Bradford City, Exeter City and Port Vale beaten, with only Huddersfield from the Championship.
Although in fairness, every one of those games were away from home.
Chelsea turned it on in the second half to blitz Preston North End with four second half goals in their FA Cup tie. Their road to the semis has seen all of their ties being at home – although they did have to beat Brighton and Newcastle to reach this stage, along with AFC Wimbledon and Blackburn Rovers.
How the bookies view it
Chelsea are strong odds-on favourites here at 4/7 with bet365. Middlesbrough can be backed at 5/1 with Betfred. The draw is 16/5 with Paddy Power.
Recent head to heads
The clubs haven't been in the same league for seven years. They last met in an FA Cup tie two years ago at the Riverside which Chelsea won 2-0.
In fact, Chelsea have won the last nine meetings between the sides.
Players to watch
Raheem Sterling scored his seventh goal of the season for Chelsea in their weekend FA Cup win and he is 2/1 to score anytime with bet365.
Emmanuel Latte Lath also has seven goals for the season in all competitions for Boro. He is 10/3 to score anytime with Boylesports.
Anything else catch the eye?
Chelsea have had far from a vintage season and you couldn't really be steaming in at their chunky odds-on price, but they might just edge out Boro here as Villa did on Saturday.
Back them to win by the same one-goal margin at a tempting 11/4 with bet365.
There were 17 corners in Boro's game with Villa at the weekend and Chelsea won eight of their own against Preston. There should be plenty on Tuesday too. Go for over 10 at 11/10 also with bet365.
This EFL Cup match between Middlesbrough and Chelsea will be played on Jan 9, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Middlesbrough vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
