Middlesbrough Vs. Chelsea: Preview, Prediction, Possible Lineups, Betting Tips, and Live Stream
Chelsea continues their Premier League campaign again after the international break as they travel to Middlesbrough, where they will try to add another win to their five-match unbeaten streak.
The Middlesbrough vs. Chelsea match, for which a live streaming link is provided below, will be played at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough.
Congratulations to Antonio Conte who has been named October’s Barclays Manager of the Month! ? pic.twitter.com/NqiSVFew1Y
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 18, 2016
Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 formation has worked wonders for the Blues this season. In the previous five matches, they have scored whopping sixteen goals, while not conceding a single goal in the process. After a catastrophic season under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink, where they finished tenth in the league, the West Londoners now seem to have revived completely.
The London giants, with 26 points, are only a point behind the division leaders, Liverpool, and will Chelsea will move to the summit if Liverpool fails to win against Southampton this Saturday.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, is in the 15th position in the table after eleven games. Though their form has been pretty ordinary, they have troubled the big guns of the league this season. Their two recent away matches, against Arsenal and Manchester City, have resulted in a draw.
Team News: Middlesbrough
Aitor Karanka’s side will be pounded with relentless pressure by Chelsea this weekend.
READ | Aitor @Karanka offers injury updates on George Friend & Dani Ayala ahead of Sunday's game with @ChelseaFC.??
?https://t.co/zQTruiymlx pic.twitter.com/OgDECYT1qQ— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) November 18, 2016
Injury concerns for the home team are relatively minor, and only Daniel Ayala will miss the game due to a foot injury.
The last time Middlesbrough won against Chelsea was in 2006 when Mark Viduka and Emanuel Pogatetz scored.
Manager Aitor Karanka is likely to field his players in a 4-5-1 formation, which is the same formation they used against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City two weeks ago.
Middlesbrough: Predicted Lineup
Valdes — Barraghan, Chambers, Gibson, Friend — Forshaw, Clayton, Traore, Ramirez, Downing — Negredo
Team News: Chelsea
Chelsea’s lethal striker Diego Costa was forced to withdraw from the Spanish squad with a groin injury. However, he has been declared fit to play vs. Middlesbrough, thus wiping away Chelsea fans’ doubts.
A nerve-wracking moment occurred for Chelsea supporters when Eden Hazard seemed to be injured during his international duty with Belgium. But his international manager, Roberto Martinez, played down injury concerns and signaled that Hazard is fit to play for Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend.
Cesc Fabregas and Kourt Zouma are already back in training, which means Antonio Conte’s men have much-needed strength on the bench.
Branislav Ivanovich is trying to return to the team after his impressive performance for Serbia this week.
”I definitely think playing with three at the back for Serbia can help me with Chelsea. I was injured and I’ve just got back in the national team. It’s good to be back on the pitch, I need minutes,” he said after the match, as reported by Goal.
After Chelsea humiliated Everton 5-0 in the last game, Everton boss Ronald Koeman highly praised Antonio Conte‘s side.
”I have never seen a team so strong playing this system. This system is very difficult to play against, and the movement of Hazard, Costa and Pedro is difficult. The manager has brought winning mentality to the players. If they keep that they will fight for the title for sure.” the Dutch coach said, as reported by Squawka.
Chelsea: Predicted Lineup
Courtois — Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill — Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso — Pedro, Costa, Hazard
Middlesbrough Vs. Chelsea: Head-to-Head
Total games: 114
Boro wins: 31
Chelsea wins: 54
Draws: 29
Middlesbrough Vs. Chelsea: TV Schedule and Channel
In the U.S., the match will be live on SiriusXM FC, NBCSN, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, NBC Sports Live, andTelemundo. In the U.K., the game will be live on NOW TV UK, SKY GO Extra, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports 1/HD UK, and Sky Go UK. For other regions, The TV schedule can be found at the link here.
Middlesbrough Vs. Chelsea: Prediction
With a title challenge in mind, Chelsea will try to continue their amazing run with a win on Sunday. It will be incredibly tough for Boro to shut down the waves of attacks by Chelsea’s trio of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, and Pedro Rodriquez for the entire evening. The Blues have a tremendous record against the home side as they haven’t lost to them in 11 years.
Middlesbrough will come onto the pitch to turn around the odds. While everyone backs Chelsea to win this ”easy fixture,” they would love to change the much-predicted outcome.
Final Prediction: Middlesbrough 1 – Chelsea 2
Middlesbrough Vs. Chelsea: Betting Tips and Odds
- Middlesbrough win: 6/1
- A draw: 16/5
- Chelsea win: 1/2
- Under 2.5 goals: 5/6
- Over 2.5 goals: 5/6
- Both teams score: evens
- Both teams fail to score: 8/11
The odds were provided by Paddypower.
Key Stats to consider
- Chelsea has kept a clean sheet in their last six matches against the Boro.
- Chelsea has been ahead at both half-time and full-time in their last four matches (Premier League).
The Middlesbrough vs. Chelsea stats were provided by Whoscored.
Middlesbrough Vs. Chelsea: Live Stream
The match can be streamed live online by clicking this link.
[Featured Image by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]
