The highlight of this week's midweek football action is the Carabao Cup semi-final first legs, which kick off with Championship side Middlesbrough hosting Premier League Chelsea on Tuesday night (20:00).
The Blues are looking for some cup success to provide a bit of respite from their mediocre form in the league and they will be looking to make the most of this golden opportunity to reach Wembley.
- Chelsea to win
- Under 2.5 goals
- Cole Palmer to assist a goal
Blues Have Sights Set On Final
Chelsea are tenth in the Premier League as the second half of the season begins and their best chance of silverware this year looks to be in cup competitions.
They reached the fourth round of the FA Cup with a smooth 4-0 win over Preston on Saturday and have a chance to play in the Carabao Cup final if they can see off another Championship outfit, Middlesbrough, over the two legs of their semi-final.
It has not been entirely smooth sailing for the Blues since their league defeat to Wolves on Christmas Eve as they needed a late penalty to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at home and gave up two late goals at Luton after going 3-0 ahead, but they were clinical enough against Preston to suggest they can extend their winning run to four games in the first leg at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough have lost three of their last four games, going down at Rotherham and at home to Coventry in Championship action before losing 1-0 to Premier League Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round.
That defeat was somewhat unlucky as the late winning goal by Matty Cash took a big deflection, but Boro had only one shot on target in the match and may not pose much of a threat to the Chelsea goal either.
The Championship team have had favourable draws throughout this cup run, beating three League One clubs (Bolton, Exeter and Port Vale) and League Two Bradford, but tackling Chelsea is an entirely different prospect.
The home fans created a great atmosphere against Villa, but their team have lost four of their last five games at the Riverside and this test is the toughest of them all.
Low-Scoring Away Win On The Cards
Middlesbrough are struggling for goals, with only 14 scored in 13 home league games this season, and they have found the net only four times in their last five games.
It seems quite possible that they will fail to breach the defences of Chelsea. The Blues have won their last nine games against Middlesbrough without conceding a goal and that pattern could continue on Tuesday.
Chelsea may not go on a goal spree either, as it took them almost an hour to breach Preston's defences on Saturday and the home team will be doing everything they can to give themselves something to play for in the second leg at Stamford Bridge on January 23rd.
A Chelsea win with a 1-0 or 2-0 scoreline seems a likely outcome and backing under 2.5 goals in the game could be a wise move.
The Blues will be without forward Nicolas Jackson, who is with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Christopher Nkunku may not be cleared to play due to a hip injury, so the visitors may be lacking their full offensive potential.
Palmer Key For Chelsea
Chelsea have received plenty of criticism for some of their signings over the last couple of seasons, but there have been few complaints about their capture of Cole Palmer from Manchester City.
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has scored 10 goals in all competitions this season, including two in the recent 3-2 win at Luton, but on top of that he has also proved prolific at setting up goals for his teammates.
Palmer has been credited with seven assists this season, including one in Saturday's 4-0 FA Cup win over Preston, when he took the corner that Thiago Silva scored from in the 66th minute.
He has assisted goals in two of Chelsea's three games in this competition, against Brighton and Blackburn, and looks capable of setting up a strike for a teammate again at the Riverside.
