Middlesbrough vs Chelsea prediction: Blues should eventually edge out Boro

Chelsea go to Championship side Middlesbrough in the first Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday (KO, 20:00), with the Blues expected to seal a vital away win.

Mauricio Pochettino knows a victory at the Riverside would leave his team on the verge of securing a place in the League Cup final with the second leg at Stamford Bridge to come later this month.

Boro could prove to be tricky opponents but Michael Carrick's side, who are down in 12th place in the second tier, seem unlikely to upset the odds.

Team News

Middlesbrough must do without suspended forward Morgan Rogers, while Finn Azaz and Sam Greenwood are cup-tied.

Samuel Silvera, Riley McGree and Seny Dieng are all unavailable for the hosts as they are on international duty and Tom Smith, Darragh Lenihan, Lewis O'Brien, Marcus Forss and Patrick McNair are injured.

Christopher Nkunku has suffered a hip injury so looks set to miss out for the visitors, who must also do without Nicolas Jackson, who is on international duty, and Andrey Santos, who is ineligible.

Ben Chilwell, Benoit Badiashile and Carney Chukwuemeka are all closing in on returns from injury and will be assessed, but Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu and Romeo Lavia are still out.

Match Odds

Chelsea are 4/7 favourites in the Match Result market, Boro are 9/2, while a draw is available at 16/5.

Both teams to score is 4/6, which has occurred in four of Chelsea's last five games in all competitions, while over 2.5 total goals on the night is on offer at 4/7.

Draw/Chelsea - Half-Time/Full-Time @ 7/2

Chelsea ended up convincing 4-0 winners at home over another Championship side, Preston, at the weekend in the FA Cup third round but all four goals came after the break.

They may also have to work hard in the second period on Teesside to secure a positive result to take into the return leg of this semi-final at home.

Boro proved they can frustrate good Premier League opposition on Saturday when they held out for 87 minutes before conceding against Aston Villa in their FA Cup tie and this could follow a similar pattern.

Pochettino's side were also level at half-time before beating Crystal Palace 2-1 over Christmas and 10 of their last 13 goals in all competitions have come after the break.

Cole Palmer to score anytime @ 13/8

Cole Palmer has impressed for Chelsea following his summer move from Manchester City, scoring eight goals and registering seven assists from just 20 appearances in total for the Londoners.

He has yet to score this season in the EFL Cup, but that could change on Tuesday and he is among several players in the visitors' squad with the required quality to hurt Boro.

In his last five outings for the Blues, the 21-year-old has taken 15 shots, of which six have been on target, so he is obviously feeling confident at the moment in the final third when he gets a sight of goal.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.