Middlesbrough 0-1 Chelsea: Premier League as it happened

That just about wraps up IBTimes UK's live coverage of the penultimate game of Premier League matchday 12. We do have a Monday night fixture this week, with West Brom set to entertain Burnley in what is sure to be an attritional encounter at the The Hawthorns.

Goodbye for now.

That defeat brings Middlesbrough's three-match unbeaten streak to an end. They had performed well to thwart both Arsenal and Manchester City in recent weeks, but ultimately they found it too tough a proposition today to breach this impregnable Chelsea defence.

They remain 15th and only one point above the bottom three ahead of a trip to struggling defending champions Leicester City next Saturday. Karanka's men have won two and drawn five of their opening 12 matches back at this level.

There is simply no stopping Chelsea right now as that 10th goal of the season from Costa sends Conte's side above Manchester City and Liverpool to the summit of the Premier League.

They have now clocked up six straight wins without conceding a single goal, scoring 17 times in the process to improve their formidable goal difference to +18. What an incredible turnaround it has been since that dreadful defeat to Arsenal in September.

Their mettle will now be severely tested by a London derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge next weekend. That is followed by a trip to the Etihad Stadium.

Full-time

Middlesbrough 0-1 Chelsea

Luiz heads away a late free-kick and Barragan fails to pick out Ramirez with a long pass.

That should be all she wrote.

Conte attempts to eat up more precious seconds with his third and final substitution. Oscar replaces Hazard, who is understandably in no rush to leave the pitch.

The fourth official holds up his electronic board and signals four minutes of added time.

Can Chelsea hold onto their slender advantage and finish the weekend top of the Premier League?

A change apiece from both managers as the clock ticks down to the end of 90 minutes.

'Boro captain Grant Leadbitter replaces Forshaw and Conte, who still has one sub remaining, withdraws Moses in favour of Branislav Ivanovic.

Chalobah blocks a cross from fellow substitute Fischer and Negredo is unable to control Downing's inventive pass on the stretch.

Goal kick.

Into the final five minutes now. Can Middlesbrough frustrate a title contender with a late equaliser for the second match in a row?

Moments after receiving what looked very much like his own final warning from Moss, Ramirez again avoids a yellow card for knocking over Hazard.

Luiz puts too much on the subsequent free-kick and it sails over the bar.

Conte introduces former 'Boro loanee Nathaniel Chalobah with his first change. Pedro walks off with 11 minutes plus stoppage time remaining.

Barragan's interception fuels a swift Middlesbrough counter. Traore runs at Luiz before cutting inside and picking out Negredo.

The ball is played behind the ex-Manchester City striker, but an exquisite first touch sets up a well-struck volley that is turned around the post by Courtois.

Costa looks to muscle his way through Middlesbrough's defence near the centre circle and Chambers is cautioned for pulling him down.

Traore then blazes over from the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.

Alonso produces a horrid mis-kick with his weaker right foot and Kante has his name taken for hauling down Adam Forshaw.

Karanka then makes his second change in quick succession. Attacking midfielder Viktor Fischer comes on in place of Clayton.

The first substitution from either side sees Fabio make way for Downing.

End-to-end stuff at the Riverside now with just over 20 minutes left to play. Fabio sends in a deep cross from the left flank but Alonso does just enough to prevent De Roon from making a connection.

Chelsea launch a quick counter-attack after Courtois confidently claims possession from a Middlesbrough corner.

Costa sprints forward and waits for a gap to emerge before sliding in Moses. Played onside by Barragan, he loses composure under pressure from Valdes and lashes the ball into row z.

Crossbar!

Luiz flights in a terrific cross for Costa, who nods the ball down for an unmarked Pedro to thrash against the woodwork with his left foot.

So close.

Negredo is flattened from behind by Luiz. Moss waves play on with Traore in possession, but the Spaniard is quickly surrounded by Chelsea defenders and his shot is blocked.

'Boro continue to turn up the heat but to no avail. They are still very much in this game.

The home fans are in fine voice as they will their side to find an equaliser. Luiz makes a vital clearing header and Ramirez is penalised for upending Hazard.

Middlesbrough piece together an incisive passing move that sees Traore find Clayton before a super dummy from Negredo opens things up for Ramirez.

The former Southampton and Hull playmaker takes a touch to set himself before firing his shot over Courtois' crossbar.

That was a real waste.

Azpilicueta miscues a clearance straight into the path of Ramirez and is then booked for trying to make amends for that initial error by cynically tripping the Uruguayan.

Ramirez's powerful free-kick then hits Luiz in the wall and goes out of play for a throw-in on the far side.

An inviting cross from Moses falls safe and De Roon is handed what will likely be his final warning after deliberately leaving a foot in on Costa.

Any further infringements and he will pick up a yellow card.

Chelsea pick up where they left off. Valdes saves a low effort from Alonso after good play from Moses and Hazard.

Luckily for 'Boro, Chambers reacts quickest to clear the rebound behind before Pedro can tap home a second goal.

The second half is underway. No changes from Karanka or Conte at the interval.

A seventh goal in as many top-flight away matches from Costa has Chelsea ahead at the break. They have enjoyed plenty of possession and only a superb save from Valdes prevented them from taking the lead earlier.

Middlesbrough began well and have certainly had their moments, although Karanka will be hugely disappointed at conceding such a sloppy goal that saw five of his players fail to react.

It will surely be a tall order to expect such a low-scoring team to breach a backline that has now gone over nine hours without conceding a single league goal. However, it should be noted that they trailed at Manchester City before that injury-time leveller from De Roon.

Half-time

Middlesbrough 0-1 Chelsea

Two minutes of stoppage time have been signalled by the fourth official at the end of this competitive first half.

Costa tees up Moses with a fine low pass and the 25-year-old shoots over via a deflection from Fabio.

The resulting corner is messy, hitting Ramirez and Chambers before looping up into the air. Five 'Boro defenders are caught ball watching and Costa reacts fastest to turn home his 10th Premier League goal of the season already.

First blood to Chelsea.

Goal: Middlesbrough 0-1 Chelsea (Diego Costa)

The game is really starting to open up now. Hazard sets off on an impressive run and Costa then elects to try and play in Pedro, which allows Barragan to make the block.

Alonso keeps the attack alive and whips in a low ball. Middlesbrough just about clear their lines, but play is promptly stopped after Valdes sustains a blow to the head following an accidental collision with Fabio.

The ludicrously fast Traore leaves Kante and Alonso for dead before supplying a near-post cross that is headed away by Luiz.

The ball is immediately swung back in by Barragan and Negredo, perhaps distracted by the movement of Ramirez, heads wide.

A lively few moments inside the Chelsea half as Luiz goes in hard on Negredo before an irate Ramirez is penalised for felling Hazard.

The crowd are well up for this one.

Chambers concedes possession to Costa on the edge of the penalty area. He picks out compatriot Pedro, whose low diagonal pass intended for Hazard is mishit and gathered by Valdes.

What a save!

Hazard frees Moses with a lofted pass down the right channel. The Nigerian international cuts the ball back for Pedro, who is denied an opening goal by a superb fingertip stop from Valdes.

Almost an opening for De Roon, but he is prevented from producing a close-range shot after an attempted clearing header from Luiz clearly strikes him on the hand.

Ramirez shows his disgust with referee Moss after failing to win a free-kick following a tussle with Cesar Azpilicueta.

Chelsea, who have been controlling possession and probing for an opening without much success, then get a sniff of goal as Pedro looks to play in Hazard.

Victor Valdes slides in to clear after a rogue touch from Barragan and Alonso's poor long-range drive draws ironic cheers from the home supporters.

Middlesbrough have competed well in this opening 20 minutes and certainly do not look intimidated by Chelsea's stellar run of form.

Matic may require treatment after being caught late by De Roon.

A promising Middlesbrough attack is thwarted by a comically poor touch from Ramirez, who watches on helplessly as the ball rolls out of play.

At the other end, Hazard plays Moses in behind Fabio but the Chelsea wing-back's shot is well wide.

Moses' attempted cross from the right is deflected behind by Fabio. Gibson then stands firm to clear the initial corner and a flicked pass from Luiz intended for Hazard.

Middlesbrough are temporarily opened up as Alonso slides a ball down the left wing for Hazard. With Costa and Pedro arriving in the penalty area, the Belgian produces a tame cross that is intercepted by Arsenal loanee Calum Chambers.

Luiz avoids further punishment for bringing down Negredo. The impressive Adama Traore then embarks upon a mazy run from inside his own half, beating Hazard and N'Golo Kante before being tripped by Matic.

Hazard deploys some trademark trickery to evade the attentions of De Roon before being left in a heap by a reckless sliding challenge from Adam Clayton, who picks up the first yellow card of the afternoon with nine minutes gone.

David Luiz is caught in no man's land as Fabio releases Ramirez with a long pass down the left flank. A subsequent ball inside to Marten de Roon arrives slightly behind his intended target and the Dutchman's shot is blocked by Nemanja Matic.

Alvaro Negredo then flashes a dangerous low delivery across the six-yard box.

Middlesbrough invite unnecessary pressure with some dicey passing deep inside their own half and Gibson ends up having to put the ball out of play for a throw.

Marcos Alonso tries to pick out the run of Pedro, but his lofted pass is easily cut out by Ben Gibson. The 23-year-old defender is the nephew of 'Boro chairman Steve.

Middlesbrough immediately look to go on the offensive. Ramirez manages to drift in behind a sluggish Victor Moses, but Antonio Barragan's cross-field pass is slightly overhit and trickles out of play for a goal kick.

After a minute's silence for Remembrance Sunday that ended in widespread applause, referee Jonathan Moss blows his whistle and we are officially underway.

Apparently red and blue clash, so Chelsea are donning their rather interesting grey and black hooped away shirts with fluorescent yellow trim.

They will kick from left to right in this opening 45 minutes.

Just over five minutes remaining until kick-off at the Riverside.

Karanka also claims that Middlesbrough proved they are a match for anyone following those draws at Arsenal and Manchester City and believes his side are coming up against title favourites this afternoon who have been boosted by their lack of involvement in any European competition.

I have always said the main thing for me is the performances. But the best way to add confidence is to add points on the table. It's not easy to get points away at teams like Arsenal and Manchester City. We have shown we can compete against anyone.

We know they've scored 16 in the last five games and didn't concede one goal. Conte has settled in the league really well and in a few months and his team already have a good shape. I think they are favourites to win the league because they have the advantage of not playing games in Europe. In the future they will benefit from that. To play against a team like Chelsea, the way they playing, is a nice and tough challenge for us.

We won the game against Bournemouth, which was important because our home crowd deserved it. After that match, and Arsenal and City as well, we have confidence. But we know we have to be at 150% against Chelsea.

Karanka's path in English football could have taken a very different route. The highly-rated Spaniard was offered the chance to follow Jose Mourinho upon the latter's second appointment as Chelsea boss in the summer of 2013 having served as his assistant at Real Madrid for three seasons.

He rejected that opportunity, however, insisting that he wanted to become a number one in his own right before replacing Tony Mowbray at Middlesbrough a few months later.

Addressing the offer in the build-up to this match, Karanka insisted he harboured no regrets.

Jose always wants an assistant and I told him, 'thank you', because he had never offered an assistant the chance to go with him and, for me, it was amazing. We spoke, but I said, 'For me, the time to be a coach has arrived'.

I have no regrets. My chance arrived three or four months later – and it was the right chance. Jose said he was really pleased because he thought I was ready. It was a normal conversation between friends and we speak often. After three years working with Jose and learning from him, my time had arrived.

For the first time in the Premier League, Chelsea have named an unchanged starting XI for the fifth match in succession.

Hazard and Costa both start as expected, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' claims that he would not miss any time due to a burst blood vessel in his left eye also ring true.

Conte's solitary swap comes on the bench, where the fit-again Fabregas replaces academy graduate Ola Aina.

Two changes from Karanka, who drops Stewart Downing to the bench in favour of Ramirez. Friend must have failed that late test and his place is taken by Fabio Da Silva.

This will be the former Manchester United full-back's first Premier League start for Middlesbrough since his summer move from Cardiff City. His only appearances to date so far this season have come in the EFL Cup and Checkatrade Trophy competitions.

Emilio Nsue and Jordan Rhodes are both named as substitutes.

Chelsea XI: Courtois, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso, Pedro, Diego Costa, Hazard

Subs: Begovic, Ivanovic, Terry, Chalobah, Fabregas, Oscar, Batshuayi

Middlesbrough XI: Valdes, Barragan, Chambers, Gibson, Fabio, De Roon, Clayton, Forshaw, Traore, Ramirez, Negredo

Subs: Guzan, Bernardo, Nsue, Leadbitter, Downing, Fischer, Rhodes

Standby for breaking team news...

Karanka, meanwhile, admitted that 'Boro were sweating over a few fitness doubts ahead of today's match. Those include ever-present left-back George Friend, who is struggling with a minor knee injury suffered in training. He will undergo a late fitness test.

Daniel Ayala has been ruled out with an ankle complaint, although Gaston Ramirez, who netted a fine individual goal in that win over Bournemouth, is available again after missing the 1-1 draw at Manchester City due to a one-match suspension.

He and compatriot Cristhian Stuani both made the long trip to South America during the international break for Uruguay's 2018 World Cup qualifying double-header against Ecuador and Chile. Whether any potential tiredness limits their participation today remains to be seen.

Conte will have the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose from this afternoon, with both Costa and Hazard fit after suffering injury scares during the recent international break.

Costa withdrew from Julen Lopetegui's Spain squad for matches against Macedonia and England due to a groin issue, while Hazard limped out of Belgium's 8-1 drubbing of Estonia after sustaining a kick to the calf.

"The news is that I have all of the players available," Conte confirmed in his pre-match press conference. "They are in good form. Costa had a bit of an injury after the Everton game, he started to train with us on Wednesday and his physical condition is good. We still have tomorrow to look at the situation tactically but at the moment he can play. Eden also recovered very well."

Midfield outcast Cesc Fabregas has finally shaken off a lingering thigh problem and Kurt Zouma is also back in first-team training following a nine-month layoff. However, instead of playing today, the French defender will continue his recovery with another outing for the U23s against Southampton on Monday.

Chelsea's new-found defensive superiority is likely to prove a significant issue for 'Boro, who, after yesterday's matches, are now tied with fellow newly-promoted side Hull City as the Premier League's lowest scorers with 10.

Karanka's men have won only two of their first 11 matches since ending a seven-year absence from the top-flight by edging out Brighton & Hove Albion in the race for the Championship's second automatic promotion slot, although can take solace from an impressive three-match unbeaten streak that has seen them frustrate both Arsenal and Manchester City in addition to beating Bournemouth.

Their previous record against today's opponents is nothing to shout about, however. Middlesbrough have lost all of their six meetings with Chelsea since recording a pair of league wins in February and August 2006.

After watching his side suffer their second defeat in a row and drop down to eighth in the Premier League courtesy of a humiliating loss to rampant Arsenal, Antonio Conte's short honeymoon period at Chelsea looked to be well and truly over as early as late September.

It has been all change since then, however, with the club having reaped the rewards of the passionate and flamboyant Italian's overdue switch to his favoured 3-4-3 system.

Since instigating that change in formation, minor EFL Cup blip at West Ham aside, Chelsea have established themselves as a real force to be reckoned with by racking up five consecutive top-flight wins. They have not conceded a single goal during that formidable sequence and their defensive frugality has been complemented by a blistering attack, led by rejuvenated duo Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, that have scored 16 times since the beginning of October.

Sitting third ahead of kick-off, the visitors can overtake Manchester City and Liverpool to rise back to the top of the table with a sixth-straight triumph over Aitor Karanka's Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon.