((STREAMS>)) Chelsea vs Middlesbrough Live Broadcast Free 23 January 2024 Today
Chelsea vs. Middlesbrough FREE LIVE STREAM (1/23/2024): Watch Carabao Cup semi-final online | Time, USA TV, channel. The pressure is on English Premier League side Chelsea as they look to come back from a goal down against Championship outfit Middlesbrough in this Carabao Cup semifinal, second leg clash at Stamford Bridge.
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Chelsea missed a host of chances in the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, and were made to pay. Hayden Hackney's first half strike for Boro was the difference between the two teams coming into this decisive second meeting.
Full-back Isaiah Jones and midfielder Jonny Howson are both doubtful for Middlesbrough, while Christopher Nkunku's absence through injury leaves Armando Broja as the only recognized striker available to Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: English Carabao Cup semi-final
Who: Chelsea vs. Middlesbrough
When: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Stamford Bridge -- London
TV: ESPN+
Watch anywhere
The Chelsea vs Middlesbrough live stream serves up a Carabao Cup semi-final that has the power to make or break each team's season. Hayden Hackney's tidy finish has given Boro a 1-0 advantage for today's decisive second-leg clash at Stamford Bridge.
The last trophy Middlesbrough won was the EFL Cup in 2004, so the run that they're currently on feels more like a surprising skip down Memory Lane than a journey into the unknown. Michael Carrick's team impressed in the first leg, taking the game to their Premier League opponents and targeting Levi Colwill at every opportunity, before battening down the hatches when they went one up.
Not bad when you consider they had 12 players injured, and Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Bangura limped off in the opening 20 minutes. For Chelsea it was another chastening night in an ever-expanding line of them, but such is the depth of talent at Mauricio Pochettino's disposal that they remain favorites to overturn the deficit today.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were beaten at the Riverside Stadium earlier this month and now trail Championship side Middlesbrough by a single goal ahead of this evening's semi-final second-leg tie at Stamford Bridge.
It was another game where the Blues missed a number of good chances and they will need to ensure they find their finishing touch if they are to avoid what would surely be a season-defining disappointment.
With a spot in the League Cup final on the line, Chelsea will need to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg against Middlesbrough. Coached by former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, Boro were well prepared to get out of the home leg with a victory while leaning on Chelsea's finishing woes as well. The Blues have been struggling to score for a while, and the EFL Cup is their best chance at a trophy this season, so all the pressure will be on the Blues Tuesday.
We've reached January and Mauricio Pochettino still has yet to settle on a best 11 as none of the forwards on the team are showing that they deserve to start consistently. Leaning on Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku will need to get going sooner than later or we could end up in a situation where a Championship side are in the EFL Cup final.
Despite struggling in league play, Boro have been well drilled for their cup matches under Carrick. With a cup run so far that has seen Boro dispatch Port Vale, Exeter City, Bradford City, Bolton, and Huddersfield this could be the first Premier League team that they knock out before a potential date with Liverpool or Fulham in the final.
Chelsea have finally started finding their groove under Mauricio Pochettino as they are on a winning streak of three successive games in the Premier League and would be looking to change the scoreline in the EFL Cup to secure a ticket to the final.
Middlesbrough, on the other hand, defied all odds by beating Chelsea in the first leg and now they face another daunting task of holding up the Blues' forward battery at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have a long catalogue of players currently on the sidelines including the likes of Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Robert Sanchez and Lesley Ugochukwu who are all nursing their respective injuries.
Summer signing Nicolas Jackson is currently at the AFCON 2023 playing for Senegal ruling the forward out of the fixture while Noni Madueke could replace Albanian forward Armando Broja in the starting eleven that featured in the victory against Fulham in the league.
Riley McGree and Sam Silvera are on international duty with Australia at the AFC Asian Cup while Seny Dieng misses out as he's representing Senegal at the CAF AFCON 2023.
Michael Carrick's squad list will miss Alex Bangura, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Tom Smith, and Darragh Lenihan with the four players currently confined to the treatment room.
The Blues lost by a single goal at the Riverside earlier this month, with Hayden Hackney's strike proving the difference between the Premier League and Championship sides.
Chelsea, who are hoping to win the competition for the sixth time, haven't played for 10 days, with the Blues edging past Fulham in the Premier League thanks to Cole Palmer's penalty.
Pochettino's men are still in the FA Cup too, however, their chances of securing European football through the Premier League look slim, with Chelsea currently ninth and 12 points off the top four.
Middlesbrough have played a couple of times since their win against Chelsea, with Michael Carrick's side winning at Millwall before drawing at home against Rotherham to leave them in 11th place in the Championship. In typical fashion for the second flight, they're just three points off the playoffs.
The Blues will again be without Christopher Nkunku for the second leg having failed to shake off a hip injury.
Malo Gusto has also joined a mounting injury list, which includes Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Lesley Ugochukwu and Romeo Lavia.
Boro, meanwhile, are also missing several players including Emmanuel Latte Lath, Alex Bangura, Paddy McNair, Darragh Lenihan and Thomas Smith.
Isaiah Jones is a doubt after picking up a hamstring injury in the draw with Rotherham on Saturday with Jonny Howson also facing a race to return from a knock.
Coming off the back of a 3-0 victory against Port Vale in the quarterfinals, Michael Carrick's side dominated the early stages at the Riverside and took a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute through academy product Hayden Hackney.
Chelsea fired off a handy 18 shots in their bid to get back on level terms, but only managed five on target as they struggled to break down Boro's valiant, organised defence throughout the second half in North Yorkshire.
Middlesbrough certainly won't be going down without a fight though, and if they can retain their 1-0 lead in the second leg, they'll reach the final almost 20 years to the day since beating Bolton to win their first, and only, major trophy in the club's history.
Boro striker Morgan Rogers is the joint-top scorer in this season's EFL Cup alongside Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, and is set to lead the line for the visitors at Stamford Bridge alongside Matt Crooks and first-leg scorer Hayden Hackney. Recent January signings Finn Azaz and Luke Ayling are both cup-tied.
Cole Palmer's miss from point-blank range highlighted Chelsea's profligacy in front of goal at the Riverside, but the 21-year-old midfielder responded with a winner from the penalty spot as the Blues beat Fulham in the west London derby. He'll need to be on top form if Mauricio Pochettino's side are to overturn their first-leg deficit, as will fellow frontmen Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Armando Broja.
However, Chelsea have home advantage this time around, and although their young squad have buckled under the pressure of the Stamford Bridge crowd, their Premier League quality will undoubtedly tell for large parts of this game.
Christopher Nkunku's Chelsea career has been limited to just 183 minutes. The latest fitness complaint to plague the ephemeral forward is a niggling hip problem that could keep him out until the end of January.
Fellow summer arrival Romeo Lavia has only been on the pitch for 33 minutes and is also a doubt with a thigh problem. Full-backs Marc Cucurella (ankle) and Reece James (hamstring) are expected to be sidelined until March while long-term absentee Wesley Fofana is nowhere near a return.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is on the cusp of regaining full fitness - raising questions of whether Djordje Petrovic will retain his place in the future - and Trevoh Chalobah could feature in a matchday squad again this week.
The first leg was barely five minutes old before Emmanuel Latte Lah was forced off with a hamstring injury. Middlesbrough's top scorer is expected to be out until February.
First-choice goalkeeper Seny Dieng faces a similar recovery trajectory on his way back from a hip problem while Alex Bangura is scheduled to return at the end of next month.
Captain Jonny Howson missed Boro's 1-1 draw with Rotherham United on Saturday with a minor knock but Isaiah Jones dropped to the turf clutching his hamstring after just 20 minutes of the contest. The fleet-footed forward created Hackney's winner against Chelsea two weeks ago and is a significant doubt for the reverse fixture on Tuesday.
Achilles tendon injuries have ensured that both Tommy Smith and Darragh Lenihan will play no part in the remainder of the campaign but Michael Carrick can call upon the in-demand Morgan Rogers once again after serving his suspension in the first leg.
For Middlesbrough, if they can hold tight for 90 minutes, they will leave with the victory and await the winners of Liverpool and Fulham in the first domestic final of the season. That would be amazing for a team in the Championship, and it would be great for the competition.
It will be the second confrontation between these two rivals who are determined to reach the final of the Carabao Cup. Middlesbrough, one of the big surprises of the competition is one step away from reaching the final.
The thing is that in the first leg, against all odds, they achieved a good 1-0 victory and now they depend on themselves to reach a historic final. However, Chelsea are not willing to let that happen, especially since they will now define this tough semifinal at home.
