Official lineups Middlesbrough-Chelsea, Pochettino’s Blues on the pitch in the League Cup semifinal first leg: scorers prediction, caution and shooters.
Chelsea is one of the big disappointments of the first part of the Premier League season, and as a result the domestic cups could become a sort of lifeline for a club in danger of being left out of it all for the second year in a row.
Between the few positive notes, for Mauricio Pochettino’s team – only tenth in the standings and a long way from fourth place – is the ride in the League Cup, the competition in which the Blues made it to the semifinals. In the only round being played between first leg and return they will face a club playing in the Championship – the English Serie B – Middlesbrough, a noble decadent coached by former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick. Boro, which is currently out of the playoff fight, is the classic opponent with nothing to lose. Reason why the Londoners cannot afford to take the engagement lightly. It will be crucial for Chelsea to avoid defeat at the Riverside Stadium so that they are not forced to come back in the Stamford Bridge match.
MIDDLESBROUGH (4-2-3-1): Glover; van den Berg, Fry, Engel, Bangura; Barlaser, Hackney; I. Jones, Howson, Crooks; Milk Lath.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Petrovic; Malo Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill; Gallagher, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Palmer, Madueke, Sterling.
Official lineups Middlesbrough-Chelsea, the scorers prediction
Last term, taking the chestnuts out of Mauricio Pochettino’s fire have been the goals of Cole Palmer, the 21-year-old striker who grew up in Manchester City’s youth ranks and is proving to be one of Chelsea’s best summer signings. The young prospect is in great form and it would not be a surprise if he ended up on the goalscorer’s list again.
Official Middlesbrough-Chelsea lineups, likely cautions and shooters
Middlesbrough, while being holed up in their own penalty area most of the time, should still be able to create some headaches for the Blues’ rearguard, and among the most potentially dangerous players we name Matt Crooks, already five goals to his credit, including two scored in the League Cup. In Chelsea he will most likely shoot at least twice toward the goal Enzo Fernandez, but also watch out for Madueke. Boro’s halfback Howson has racked up yellow cards this season and is likely to be one of the most foul-prone. Also among the “bad guys” is right-back van den Berg, who will have to deal with a tough customer like Sterling. Blues side watch out for Gallagher in terms of cautions.
