Chelsea could win another trophy under Thomas Tuchel this weekend with the FIFA Club World Cup, but will have to get past Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal in the semi-final first.
Chelsea's success in the Champions League last season has seen them enter the Club World Cup at the semi-final stages, with the final of the competition scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 12, 2022. Should the Blues see off Al-Hilal on Wednesday, Tuchel's side will take on Palmeiras in the final, who beat Al Ahly on Tuesday.
Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ben Chilwell will all miss out through injury, but Mason Mount could return. So, what line-up will both sides select? And, what could the final score be?
We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Al-Hilal vs Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup and this is what happened...
Al-Hilal vs Chelsea score predicted by FIFA 22 simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
We predict that Al-Hilal could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Al-Mayoof; Abdulhamid, Hyun-Soo, Al-Bulayhi, Al-Shahrani; Kanoo, Cuellar; Marega, Pereira, Michael; Ighalo.
We predict that Chelsea could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Alonso; Kante, Mount, Kovacic; Ziyech, Lukaku, Havertz.
Tuchel's side started well and took an early lead in fortuitous fashion, with a deflected Romelu Lukaku effort finding the net. The Belgian striker turned in the area after receiving a pass from Hakim Ziyech, with the striker's effort clipping a defender, sending his effort into the near post and wrong-footing the goalkeeper.
The Blues continued to dominate the game but were unable to stretch their lead before the break.
In the second half, Al-Hilal were much improved, with former West Brom midfielder Matheus Pereira having a real influence on the game, with some nice passes in Chelsea's half.
And the Brazilian created the Saudi Arabian side's best chance of the game just before the hour mark, with Periera playing an accurate pass into the feet of Odion Ighalo, who was clear of the Blues defenders, but somehow Kepa Arrizabalaga managed to keep his shot out from close range.
The Saudi side would come to regret that missed chance, with substitute Timo Werner making it 2-0 just a few minutes later.
Lukaku had dropped off the front line and drove towards the box, before playing in Werner, with the German volleying a first-time effort into the roof of the net.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Al-Hilal 0-2 Chelsea
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 22 predicts that Chelsea have a good chance of advancing to the FIFA Club World Cup final, as despite Saudi side Al-Hilal putting up a decent fight in the second half, Tuchel's side have the quality to see off this level of opposition.
What do you think the final score will be in the real game? Let us know in the comments below
FIFA 22 is the latest game in EA's popular FIFA video game franchise, which was released worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021. The game is available now on all platforms including Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia and PC.
