Middlesbrough vs Chelsea: Expect the Boro to show another sensation

Middlesbrough managed to knock Manchester United and Tottenham out of the FA Cup. It did not get any easier, and the Boro will take on last year's Cup finalist Chelsea. Will Middlesbrough stumble or slip past a third straight grandee? Let's be realistic.

Middlesbrough form

Middlesbrough retains a good chance of breaking into the EPL place race next season. The gap from fourth place is two points, and seven points from the second. That said, the Boro have one game to spare compared to fourth-placed Blackburn, despite sitting seventh. However, the results in the Championship are uneven — two wins, two losses and one draw. One of the losses came from former head coach Chris Wilder's club Sheffield United (1-4).

As for the FA Cup, the journey began with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Mansfield Town when the Boro led 2-0 only to miss this advantage. They eventually snatched victory in the 95th minute. Then there were encounters with Man United and Tottenham. In the first case, they managed to succeed in a penalty shootout at Old Trafford, not without the help of incompetent refereeing. And then they knocked Tottenham out in extra time (1-0).

Chelsea form

Chelsea holds third place in the English Premier League. There, the Blues have a five-game winning streak. At the same time, they successfully compete in the Champions League, where they knocked out Lille with a total score of 4-1. And all this against the backdrop of sanctions imposed by the English Parliament. In the FA Cup, Chelsea were very lucky with the opposition. They were Chesterfield (5-1), Plymouth Argyle (2-1 in extra time) and Luton Town (3-2). The win over Luton came courtesy of Romelu Lukaku, a noted expert on small teams, including Russia.

Injuries and suspensions

• Middlesbrough: Sporar (questionable);
• Chelsea: Chilwell, Hudson-Odoi, James, Christensen (questionable).

Head-to-head encounters

Mildsbrough and Chelsea have met 115 times. The head-to-head score is 55-31 in favour of the Blues. The last eight meetings saw Chelsea invariably succeed, with a clean sheet. The aggregate score is 19-0. The last time they met in the EPL was in the 2016/17 season. The meeting at Riverside ended with a narrow victory for the Blues (1-0), and the Stamford one was a 3-0 defeat.

Key stats

• Chelsea beat Middlesbrough to nil in the last 8 encounters;
• Chelsea beat Middlesbrough in the first half and in the match in 6 of the last 8 face-offs.

Expert Betting Tips

Matches like this are a golden hour for Romelu Lukaku. He knows how to show it only against the weak teams. This is why we recommend you bet on his goal for generous 2.20 from 1xbet.

We also think that Middlesbrough will put up a good fight against Chelsea. That is why you should consider betting on the home team's plus handicap of one goal for 2.05 from Bet365.

In conclusion, we believe that Chelsea will control the course of the match due to the difference in class. This will be reflected in the difference of corners served. 22bet gives odds of 1.80 for a negative 2.5 standard handicap in favor of the visitors.

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