Carabao Cup semi-final second leg preview: Chelsea host Middlesbrough, Liverpool take on Fulham

In the highly-anticipated second-leg fixtures of the Carabao Cup semi-final, Chelsea will welcome Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge and Liverpool will travel to West London to take on Fulham. 

The good news for the football fans is that they can watch the games live online from the comfort of their homes this week. 

Chelsea vs Middlesbrough preview 

Middlesbrough secured a 1-0 victory in the first-leg of their semi-final tie with Chelsea after Hayden Hackney scored the decisive goal in the 37th-minute. 

The Blues created plenty of scoring opportunities in the Riverside Stadium encounter but the lack of finishing let them down. 

They will now have to significantly improve their performances in the next leg if they want to make it to the final at Wembley. 

Mauricio Pochettino’s side will enter the upcoming fixture on the back of a 1-0 success over Fulham last weekend, thanks to Cole Palmer’s goal from the spot. 

They have recently seen an upturn in form as they have won four of their last five games across all competitions. 

Chelsea, who have won the League Cup five times, have been impressive in the domestic competition this season. They have made it thus far after beating AFC Wimbledon, Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. 

On the other hand, Middlesbrough face a difficult task at Stamford Bridge despite having the 1-0 advantage from the first-leg. 

After their narrow victory against the West Londoners, Boro went on to beat Millwall before being held to a 1-1 draw by Rotherham. 

Prediction: Chelsea to win and proceed to the final.  

Fulham vs Liverpool 

Liverpool are the most successful team in the history of the EFL Cup, having won the competition an incredible nine times. 

Their most recent success in the domestic competition came in 2022 when they beat Chelsea in the final.

The Reds are now on course for making it to their 14th Carabao Cup final. They defeated Fulham 2-1 in the home leg of the semi-final tie earlier this month after goals from Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo. 

Jurgen Klopp’s side then went on to beat Bournemouth 4-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, extending their lead at the top to five points. 

The Merseyside outfit have lost only once in the domestic competitions this campaign, and that came in controversial circumstances at Tottenham Hotspur in September. 

On the other hand, Fulham have been struggling for form in recent weeks, having lost four of their six matches in all competitions. 

Marco Silva’s men will be bidding to overturn the first-leg deficit when they host Liverpool at Craven Cottage. 

However, their recent record against the Reds doesn’t offer a lot of hope as they have lost their previous three meetings with their rivals. 

Prediction: Liverpool to win