Chelsea vs Liverpool
England – FA Cup
Date: Saturday, 14 May 2022
Kick-off at 16:45 UK/ 17:45 CET
Venue: Wembley Stadium.
The finals of the 2021/22 FA Cup will be held at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening, with Liverpool taking against Chelsea.
Liverpool will face Chelsea in the FA Cup finals on Saturday, for the second major title of the 2021/22 English domestic season.
After winning the Carabao Cup, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds will be seeking to keep their quadruple ambitions alive.
After winning the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup this season, Thomas Tuchel’s Blues will look to add to their prize collection.
Liverpool started their FA Cup campaign with a 4-1 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the third round, before going on to defeat Cardiff City (3-1) and Norwich City (2-1) in the following rounds.
The Reds defeated Nottingham Forest in the quarterfinals before defeating Manchester City in the semi-finals with a thrilling 3-2 triumph.
Liverpool are unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions and come into Saturday’s finals on the back of a 2-1 Premier League comeback victory against Aston Villa.
The Merseyside giants will be looking to add the FA Cup to their collection after winning the League Cup, before pursuing the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea began their FA Cup campaign with a 5-1 hammering of Chesterfield Town, but Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town had them work hard in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively.
In the quarter-finals, the Blues defeated giant-killers Middlesbrough, and in the semi-finals, they defeated London rivals Crystal Palace.
Chelsea’s recent form is not on their side, with only two wins in their past six games across all competitions, with their most recent assignment seeing them defeat Leeds United 3-0 in the Premier League.
Chelsea will be out for revenge in the FA Cup final at Wembley after losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final earlier this year.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Head to head :
- Two of the past three encounters had goals from both teams.
- These two had locked horns in the final of the EFL Cup and then Liverpool had managed to win via penalties.
- The last four overall wins wear evenly split into two each for either squad.
- The latest league meeting had finished in a 2-2 draw.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Prediction :
Chelsea and Liverpool have already played three times this season, with both Premier League meetings finishing in draws and the Reds narrowly defeating Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup.
As a result, we can expect another hard-fought match between two great teams led by two world-class coaches.
However, considering that Chelsea has not been playing at their best recently, recent form favors Liverpool.
In recent weeks, the Blues have lost to Everton and Arsenal, as well as failing to beat a struggling Manchester United side.
Liverpool, on the other hand, has consistently found ways to win despite adversity.
Even if Mohamed Salah hasn’t been at his best, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz have stepped up brilliantly for the Reds and should help Jurgen Klopp’s side get over the line at Wembley on Saturday.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Team News :
Liverpool’s treatment room has remained largely empty during their hectic season, whether due to the diligent efforts of the medical department or sheer luck, with Roberto Firmino back on the bench at Villa Park suffering a foot injury.
The Reds were given a major setback when Fabinho walked off with an apparent hamstring injury in Tuesday’s win, but the midfielder should be fit for the Champions League final.
With so much on the line after Saturday’s final, Klopp is unlikely to risk Fabinho if he isn’t fully healthy, but he should be Liverpool’s lone absentee.
Despite Caoimhin Kelleher’s EFL Cup exploits, Klopp will almost certainly hand Alisson Becker the gloves for the FA Cup final, where Andy Robertson will return after a midweek layoff.
Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Jordan Henderson, and Mohamed Salah are all expected to return to the starting lineup, with the latter partnering Chelsea’s nemesis Sadio Mane and new addition Luis Diaz in the final third.
Mateo Kovacic was on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from Daniel James at Elland Road, for which the Leeds man was sent off, and Chelsea saw one of their midfield veterans leave the field with a serious injury in midweek.
The Croatian had the same ankle injury in the semi-final triumph over Crystal Palace, but Tuchel has not ruled out the chance of him playing some part, while Jorginho returned from his own injury in midweek.
Tuchel is “90 percent sure” that Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be in the midfield for Saturday’s final, while Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi will watch from the stands.
Following his brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Romelu Lukaku’s redemption arc continued with another goal against Leeds, and the need for a muscular presence against the likes of Konate and Virgil van Dijk could entice Tuchel to play the Belgian again here.
Timo Werner’s five contributions in the FA Cup this season, the most of any player in the cup (two goals and three assists), have also given Tuchel pause, but Kai Havertz is well-rested and will expect to fight his way back into the starting lineup.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Keita, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso; Mount; Havertz, Lukaku
