Chelsea will arrive at the Riverside Stadium in fantastic form, but are unlikely to be given an easy ride by Middlesbrough, who are buoyed by their own upturn in form.
Middlesbrough are seeking to win successive home Premier League games for the first time since August 2008. They welcome Antonio Conte’s Blues side for the first Premier League match at the Riverside since Boro’s 2-0 win against Bournemouth before the international break.
The Blues head in to the game sitting third in the table on 25 points but have the chance to climb to the top of the division with a win tomorrow after Liverpool were held by Southampton at St Mary’s this afternoon.
Antonio Conte’s men are on an excellent run having racked up five consecutive league victories including an impressive 5-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge before the international break.
They should be confident of extending that run to six wins as they face a Middlesbrough side that have won just one of their last nine league games, however, Aitor Karanka’s side have proven they can mix it with the big boys having taken points off Arsenal and Manchetser City lately.
Middlesbrough vs Chelsea: Head-to-Head Stats
Chelsea are on a six match winning run against Middlesbrough in all competitions. And they have kept clean sheets all matches during the period.
The latest meeting between the two sides has to be dated back to the FA cup clash of 2013, when Chelsea earned a 2-0 win at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough tastes defeats in their last three home matches against Chelsea. They had only won thrice in 12 home matches against Chelsea in all competition alongside 2 draws, while 7 matches ended in defeats.
Team news
Chelsea have been boosted by the news that Diego Costa is fit and available for selection after recovering from a knock which saw him withdraw from the Spanish national team squad.
Eden Hazard has also been declared fit despite picking up an ankle problem while away with Belgium last week while Cesc Fabregas is also back in contention after recovering from a thigh injury.
Kurt Zouma will continue to work on his match fitness with another run out for the under-23′s on Monday so isn’t back in the frame for a return to the first team squad just yet.
Middlesbrough will hand a late fitness test to George Friend after he picked up a knee injury in training but Gaston Ramirez is back in contention after serving his suspension.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka: "I think Chelsea are definitely one of the favourites for the league, especially as they are not playing Champions League football.
"Chelsea is another tough challenge for us. Antonio Conte is settling in the league very well but we can show once again how we can compete."
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte on Eden Hazard: 'I'm pleased for Eden because he's playing fantastic football.
"He's working very well in the [training] sessions, showing great attitude and commitment.
"He's a fantastic player, he's working a lot for the team and it's fantastic when a player with his talent puts it in for the team.
"He has the potential to do great things in his career."
Middlesbrough: Valdes – Barragan, Chambers, Gibson, Friend – Clayton – Traore, Forshaw, De Roon, Ramirez – Negredo
Chelsea: Courtois – Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill – Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso – Pedro, Diego Costa, Hazard
AgaasportNews Predicted Scores:
Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea Fc 2
No comments:
Post a Comment