A place in the EFL Cup final at Wembley is in the cards for both Chelsea and Middlesbrough, who will play the second leg of their semi-final tie at Stamford Bridge. The Premier League side have work to do in west London after losing 1-0 to their second division rivals at the Riverside Stadium.
Following their 3-0 win against Port Vale in the quarter-finals, Michael Carrick’s side dominated the opening stages at the Riverside and took a 1-0 lead through academy product Hayden Hackney in the 37th minute.
Chelsea fired a handy 18 shots in their bid to get back level but managed just five on target as they struggled to break down Boro’s brave, organized defense during the second half in North Yorkshire.
With the chance to reach the EFL Cup final for the first time since losing to Liverpool on penalties in 2022, Chelsea will be hoping that home advantage will spur them on to overturn the deficit.
But Middlesbrough will certainly not go down without a fight and if they hold on to a 1-0 lead in the second leg they will reach the final almost 20 years to the day since they beat Bolton to win their first and only game. , the main trophy in the club’s history.
Team news
Boro striker Morgan Rogers is joint top scorer in this season’s EFL Cup alongside Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and is set to lead the line for the visitors at Stamford Bridge alongside Matt Crooks and first-leg goalscorer Hayden Hackney. The recent January signings of Finn Azaz and Luke Ayling are both identical.
Cole Palmer’s close-range mistake highlighted Chelsea’s vagaries in front of goal at the Riverside, but the 21-year-old midfielder responded with a winner from the penalty spot as the Blues beat Fulham in the west London derby. If Mauricio Pochettino’s side are to overcome their first-leg deficit, they will need to be in top form, as will fellow frontmen Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Armando Broja.
Middlesbrough (3-4-2-1): Glover (GK) — van den Berg, Clarke, Engel — Jones, Barlaser, Howson, Forss — Crooks, Hackney — Rogers.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Petrovic (GK) — Gusto, Silva, Disasi, Colwill — Caicedo, Fernandez — Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling — Broja.
Chelsea vs Middlesbrough: TV Channel and Live Streaming
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