Middlesbrough v Chelsea Betting Tips [19 March 2022]
Football - FA Cup
19 March 2022 13:15
The match
The FA Cup quarter finals sees champions of Europe Chelsea travel to the Riverside Stadium without away support as they take on Championship side Middlesbrough in what is sure to be a fascinating tie. The visitors come into this match on short rest after advancing to the quarter finals of the Champions league on Wednesday with a 2-1 away win in France against Ligue 1 champions Lille. Chelsea currently sit third in the Premier League table and are on a run of five straight wins despite the recent news of owner Roman Abramovic’s plans to sell the club. The Blues certainly have a tricky task at hand against a Middlesbrough side that has looked almost unstoppable when playing at the Riverside this season. Boro are coming off a 2-0 away win to Birmingham on Tuesday and have gathered some impressive scalps in this FA Cup campaign. They knocked off Manchester United at Old Trafford before triumphing over Tottenham at home to advance to this round.
Since the appointment of manager Chris Wilder, Middlesbrough have seen their league position rise from 14th to now occupying a promotion playoff spot in sixth place. It’s been a fantastic turnaround for the side under the former Sheffield United boss and it’s been their home form that has acted as the catalyst for their run. Boro are tied with league leaders Fulham for the highest points per game average with 2.11 when playing at home. Chelsea, to their credit, have been able to ignore the recent developments in regard to their owner and the sanctions placed upon the team by the UK government. Chelsea are not allowed to sell tickets while Abramovich is owner and the lack of away fans could have a slight effect in this one. Chelsea have been red hot and their fantastic form sees them come into this match as significant favorites. In fact, the Blues only loss over their last 13 matches has come by way of penalty shootout to Liverpool in the EFL final.
Key Statistics
- Middlesbrough have a record of 11-4-5 under manager Chris Wilder since he took over the reins in November.
- Middlesbrough have won nine consecutive matches at the Riverside.
- Four of Chelsea’s last five matches have seen over 2.5 goals while only two of Boro’s last five have reached that mark.
The bet of our experts
We had success riding Middlesbrough against Spurs in the last round and we’re going back to the well here with Middlesbrough +1 on the Asian handicap. This means that if the hosts lose by a one goal margin then our bet will be refunded. There are a lot of distractions going on over at Chelsea and while the players have handled it well, there is a lot working against them situationally coming into this match. The visitors even requested this match to be played behind closed doors which was promptly denied by the FA. This could wind up being a tight match with the short rest for both sides and while Middlesbrough may not ultimately advance, they could hold Chelsea to a 1-1 type scoreline after 90 minutes.
