These are the starting lineups for Chelsea and Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup semifinals

Chelsea have not had the start to the 2023/24 season they had hoped for. They are the club that spent the most money on player signings last summer, but the results were poor and that is why they are in tenth place in the Premier League standings with 28 points, 17 behind leaders Liverpool and out of the qualification zone for international tournaments.

With this scenario, their chances of winning a title this season are the FA Cup, where they advanced to the round of 32 and will face Aston Villa, and the Carabao Cup. There they are in the semifinals, after eliminating Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle. Now their rivals will be Middlesbrough, a team that competes in the Championship, England's second division.

The first leg will be this Tuesday at the Riverside, while the second match will be on Tuesday, January 23 at Stamford Bridge. Whoever advances will face the winner of the match between Liverpool and Fulham in the final.

For the first match against Middlesbrough, manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to include his best players in the starting lineup. Chelsea's XI will be: Djordje Petrovic; Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill; Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher; Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling. Also on the bench will be Marcus Bettinelli, Lucas Bergstrom, Alfie Gilchrist, Williams, Golding, Mikhailo Mudryd, Deivid Washington and Armando Broja.

For them it is also a great opportunity

The Boro have been in the Championship since 2017, when they were relegated from the Premier League. And they are currently in 12th place in the standings, 29 points behind leaders Leicester City. That's why their only chance this season is likely to be the Carabao Cup. Coach Michael Carrick chose this XI: Tom Glover; Rav Van den Berg, Dan Barlaser, Dael Fry, Hayden Hackney, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Isaiah Jones, Jonathan Howson, Alex Bangura, Matt Crooks, Lukas Engel.