20:00 Tuesday

Middlesbrough have a narrow lead to cling onto at Stamford Bridge but maintaining it throughout the 90 minutes will be no easy feat. Michael Carrick’s side were under significant pressure after they scored the decisive 37th-minute goal in the reverse fixture.

This is a crucial week for Chelsea. Mauricio Pochettino will want to secure silverware in his first season as Blues boss and a FA Cup clash with Aston Villa follows this League Cup semi-final. They have fought their way back into contention for a European spot in the league so booking an early trip to Wembley could be just the boost they need.

Chelsea will be set out to attack from the off. They squandered several chances in the first leg and lack an out-and-out goal scorer so patience is a luxury they cannot afford.

 

Our bet for this match is for the home side to have at least five more corners than their opponents.

Chelsea won six corners in the first leg and gave away just one. We can back Chelsea -4 on the corners handicap at 9/10 with bet365.

When they are in a losing position, Pochettino’s side are averaging 6.17 corners per 90 minutes and conceding just 1.91 in the Premier League this season. It’s reasonable to assume they will win even more corners against a team from the tier below.

Boro will set out to absorb an early onslaught and Chelsea will rack up the corners as long as they don’t grab a couple of early goals:

Tip: Chelsea -4 Corners Handicap @ 9/10 bet365 (1pt)

Chelsea -4 Corners Handicap - 1pt

20:00 Wednesday

Fulham took the lead at Anfield in the first leg before eventually succumbing to defeat. If they want to book their place they will have to do it the hard way but this tie is far from dead and buried.

Liverpool were impressive in their last match as they beat an in-form Bournemouth side 4-0. Jurgen Klopp’s side were without Mohamed Salah but Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota stepped up in the Egyptian's absence.

The Reds have to contend with a short turnaround here so Klopp is likely to make changes to his starting eleven as he looks to navigate the rigours of fighting on all fronts. Fulham, on the other hand, haven’t played since the 13th of January so they will be well rested coming into this one.

Marco Silva’s side have shown a willingness to attack Liverpool in their recent head-to-heads so both teams to score and over 2.5 goals looks a good pick here.

Fulham know they need to score to have any hope of winning the tie and they’ve been lethal in recent home matches. They are averaging 2.67 goals across their last six matches at Craven Cottage and earned a 2-2 draw last time they hosted Klopp’s side.

Liverpool have scored in all 16 of their away matches in all competitions this season with an average of 1.94 goals per game. Their attack was enough for them to dig themselves out of a hole against Fulham in the league when they won 4-3 at Anfield. Liverpool also came form behind in the first leg of this tie and we should see plenty of goals once again.

Tip: Both Teams To Score & Over 2.5 Goals @ 9/10 bet365 (1pt)

Both Teams To Score & Over 2.5 Goals - 1pt