EFL Cup: Are Boro Facing a Double Exit?

Middlesbrough vs Chelsea 

Mauricio Pochettino takes his Chelsea side to the far north east on Wednesday, where they will take on Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough.

The Blues, currently tenth in the Premier League, are 22 places above their opponents in the league pyramid, and, on a run of three consecutive victories, the EFL Cup: Middlesbrough vs Chelsea should see Poch’s men assert their authority.

Middlesbrough, under their ambitious head coach, were fighting on three fronts until they lost narrowly in an FA Cup tie against high-flying Aston Villa on Saturday, and they are not to be underestimated. Chelsea hammered another Championship outfit, Preston North End, in their FA Cup third-round tie and will head north full of confidence.

The Blues are second favourites to win the trophy at SBOTOP odds of 2.50, and Boro are the rank outsiders at 25.00. And the EFL Cup 2024 betting odds say the Londoners will come through this tie and make it to the final.

Talking Points 

Boro’s Promotion Priority

At odds of 5.54 to get through to the final, Boro are well aware of the size of the task ahead of them. To beat one of the Premier League’s wealthiest clubs over two legs would be some achievement.

Carrick’s team currently sits in 12^th place in the Championship table, two places and a single point ahead of PNE, who Chelsea saw off with ease on Saturday.

They finished fourth in the 2022–23 table but missed out on promotion in the play-offs, and, while a Cup win would be magnificent for the club and their fans, promotion to the top flight is the biggest prize of all.

Boro gave Villa a tough game on Saturday, and only an 87th-minute deflected shot from Matty Cash saw them crash out of the FA Cup, and Chelsea will need to be near their best to emerge from the Riverside Stadium with a lead.

At 6 feet 4 inches, 21-year-old striker Morgan Rogers is a threat at set pieces, and he has plenty of skill with the ball at his feet, representing England at the U18 level. A Manchester City academy graduate, Morgan is top-scoring for Boro with four goals in the competition, and he’ll be keen to showcase his talents against another Premier League side.

The other player to watch is 35-year-old club captain Jonny Howson, who has bags of Championship and Premier League experience as a defensive midfielder with Leeds United and Norwich City. Howson will organise the Boro defensive lines, but he will join the attack at every opportunity and has a sweet shot in his armoury, scoring 53 goals in his career.

Blues starting to click

It was always going to take a while for Pochettino to mould together a winning team from a huge group of expensively assembled players but, with three wins on the bounce, it looks like he might be making some healthy progress.

Chelsea won their post-Christmas fixture against Crystal Palace thanks to goals from Mykhailo Mudryk and Nori Madueke. And 21 year old winger Madueke was on target again in a 3-2 win over Luton Town, the excellent Cole Palmer scoring a brace.

Goals are coming from everywhere at the moment, and that will please Pochettino no end, particularly as he will be without top scorer Nicolas Jackson, who is at the African Cup of Nations with Senegal. In the victory over Preston, the Blues were frustrated in the first half, but their patience paid off as Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Enzo Fernandez all hit the target.    

The long awaited return to fitness of summer signing Chistopher Nkunku may be just the boost that Chelsea need and, with Sterling and Palmer both having impressive campaigns, things might be about to click into place for Poch.    

History 

Chelsea have bossed this relationship over the past three decades, with 25 wins to Boro’s five, and there have been five draws. In fact, Chelsea have won the last six encounters, scoring 15 unanswered goals. So it’s fair to say that the fans of Carrick’s team might see Chelsea as a bogey side.

And while the Premier League side have enjoyed plenty of success in the head-to-head Middlesbrough vs Chelsea results, in terms of recent form, Chelsea are stronger too, with four wins, one draw, and one defeat from the last four games, while Middlesbrough have won three and lost three. So, it won’t be a surprise if Chelsea post better EFL Cup 2024 results as well. 

Betting Tip

With Middlesboro at 4.84 to win and the draw at 3.74, the Championship side is in the running for the first leg at least, and Carrick, a former Manchester United star, would love to win some silverware as a boss. But Chelsea are priced at 1.52 to win this first leg, and I reckon they will continue to gather momentum.

 

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