League Cup semi-final second leg preview: Chelsea face battle to turn tie around

After two thrilling first legs, the League Cup returns for the second leg fixtures which will decide who proceeds to the final and who has the chance to secure their first bit of silverware this season. 

We preview both games below.

Chelsea v Middlesbrough v – Tuesday 8:00pm

Following Chelsea’s shock 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the first leg tie which saw Hayden Hackney’s first-half goal give his team all they needed, Mauricio Pochettino’s side has plenty to do on their return at Stamford Bridge and as 1/5 favourites to win the game, they will be feeling the pressure to do so. Despite their win, Boro are 17/2 to be successful and win for a second time within 90 minutes, however the north-east side are 2/1 to win the tie and make it through to the League Cup final.

On paper, Chelsea completely dominated their opposition in the first leg, but their lack of a steely number nine saw them suffer, with 18 shot attempts (5 of which on goal) resulting in a 0% conversion rate. The Blues also had almost 72% of possession throughout the game with six corners to Middlesbrough’s one and were still unable to convert any of their chances. There was however a standout performance by aptly named Thomas Glover in goal who made five key saves to retain his clean sheet and give his team the edge going into the deciding fixture.

It was certainly a game to forget for Cole Palmer who failed to hit the target twice in the first half, and for the youngster who has been pulling off some seriously impressive finishes this season, these uncharacteristic mistakes cost his team greatly. The Chelsea players were booed off by some of their travelling support when the final whistle was blown but have the chance to make amends at Stamford Bridge in the second leg.

Armando Broja failed to get on the scoresheet in the first leg but is EVS to do so in this fixture with Raheem Sterling just behind him at 5/4, and youngster Cole Palmer 13/10 to right his wrongs from last game. Last leg’s scorer Hayden Hackney seems to be a longshot at 11/1 to score again with Josh Coburn the likeliest chance at 4/1, ahead of Matt Crooks and Calum Kavanagh at 5/1.

Fulham v Liverpool – Wednesday 8:00pm

Liverpool hosted Fulham in the first leg in the semi-final and came back from behind with Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones both finding the net to put their team in a winning position ahead of the second leg at Craven Cottage. The Reds are odds-on at 13/20 to win this leg in 90 minutes, whilst the Cottagers are out at 14/5.

Despite a poor showing by their standards in the opening half of the game, falling victim to Willian’s goal, the Reds managed to turn up the heat in the second half, which they are no stranger to doing this season. They will be coming into this game off the back of a 4-0 victory against Bournemouth in the Premier League, a convincing victory which will have filled them with plenty of confidence given their extensive absentee list, with the likes of first team regulars Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah, as well as a few others not fit to play.

Fulham have lost both meetings with Liverpool this season but have ended up one goal down in each of them, so the tie is not yet lost. The Cottagers will have the home advantage and the fans will be sure to rally behind them and make Liverpool feel as unwelcome as possible to shift their team up a gear and hopefully claw something back.

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo were subbed on in the second half last game and it ended up making all the difference, they are both 13/8 to hit the back of the net this time around, with only Diogo Jota ahead of them in the market at 29/20. Favourite for Fulham is frontman Raul Jimenez (5/2), joined by Carlos Vinicius at 11/4, meanwhile Willian is 15/4 to score again and retrieve anything Fulham left on the pitch at Anfield as they will be sure to give it their all at home.

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