A BIG WEEK FOR CHELSEA AS SEASON HANGS ON A THREAD

On Tuesday, Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea side welcomes Middlesborough to Stamford Bridge in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. A game that is available in Tuesday’s Soccer10 Pool, that currently stands at a pool total of just over R5 000 and likely to reach over R20 000.

This week, Chelsea will have a chance to give their season a boost as they participate in two cup competitions. The Blues will face Middlesborough in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg and square off against an in-form Aston Villa side in an FA Cup 4^th Round tie (Round of 32) on Friday night.  

The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final ended with a 1-0 win to Michael Carrick’s side as they pulled a surprise win at the Riverside Stadium. Although Chelsea seemed to be mostly in control of the game, it took a strike from Hayden Hackney in the 37^th minute to unbuckle a Chelsea side that has struggled to find its feet under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino.

CHELSEA’S RUN UNDER POCH

Towards the tail end of last season, Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard was handed the reigns at the Bridge once again following the team’s poor run of form under Graham Potter with Mauricio Pochettino set to join the club from the beginning of the new season.

Pochettino was appointed on the 1^st of July 2023, with the aim of rebuilding a Chelsea team that had just parted ways with a handful of experienced campaigners. These names included the likes of N’Golo Kante; Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy to name a few.

An influx of young talent ensued upon Cobham Training Centre with the former PSG mentor ready to take charge of his new project under new Chelsea owner, Todd Boehly.

Since his first official game against Liverpool, Poch has overseen 27 matches and has won 14 games, drawing 4 and losing 9 games. A fair start considering the groundwork that needed to be done by Pochettino.

However, with Chelsea having a rich history from the early 2000’s, the current performances have left many fans upset with the "new direction" that the club is taking with entrusting youngsters to compete with serial winners such as Manchester City.

WHAT IS THE GOAL FOR CHELSEA?

At this point, Chelsea currently sits 12 points adrift from a Champions League spot while a Europa League spot is just 4 points away from the Blues. But to get their season back on track, Poch will need two positive results against Middelesborough and Aston Villa with the Middlesborough fixture topping his list of priorities.

“It's a passport to go to the final, to visit Wembley. It's an important game for us", said Pochettino. "We want to be in the final but first of all we need to beat a very good team. In the first leg, we could not beat them. We are confident we can have a very good game in front of our fans at Stamford Bridge. We need to take advantage of playing at Stamford Bridge”.