Chelsea will take part in their first Carabao Cup final since the 2018/19 season this afternoon, as they face Liverpool at Wembley.
The 2018/19 final saw the Blues suffer defeat against Manchester City, who won the competition four times in a row between 2017 and 2021, with Chelsea's last success in this competition coming in the 2014/15 season when they beat Spurs 2-0.
The Blues had to overcome Spurs twice over two legs to reach the Carabao Cup final this time around, with Thomas Tuchel's side winning 3-0 on aggregate against their London rivals to reach the final.
Chelsea and Liverpool have proven to be well matched this season, with both games between the sides in the Premier League resulting in draws.
Tuchel has been handed a boost ahead of the final with Reece James competing for a place in the starting XI again after his return from injury, whilst Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech are set to be fit after their injury scares midweek.
So, what line-up will Tuchel select? And, what could the final score be?
We used FIFA 22 to get a Carabao Cup final score prediction for Chelsea vs Liverpool on Sunday afternoon and this is what happened...
Chelsea vs Liverpool score predicted by 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 Chelsea could set up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kepa; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kante, Jorginho, Azpilicueta; Ziyech, Havertz, Pulisic.
We predict that Liverpool could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz.
Like every meeting between these two sides this season, the game started extremely open, with both sides creating chances but failing to capitalise.
Christian Pulisic came closest in the first half when he was played through on goal, but the winger snatched at his shot rather than getting closer to goal, leaving Kelleher to make a strong save to his right.
Kelleher was tested from range minutes later when Antonio Rudiger tried his luck, but the 'keeper did well to push the effort wide of goal. The second half continued in the same manner, but it was the Reds who broke the deadlock, with Luis Diaz finding the opener at Wembley.
Some good link-up play down the left between Diaz and Andrew Robertson saw the former find himself in space inside the area.
The ball worked its way to Thiago in the centre, and the Spaniard found Diaz unmarked, leaving the Colombian to strike across Kepa and into the net.
Virgil van Dijk was forced off with an injury with 20 minutes remaining, and it seemed to give Chelsea a boost, with the Blues pushing for an equaliser. Three minutes of added time were awarded at the end of 90 minutes, and Chelsea grabbed a late equaliser in added time through substitute Hakim Ziyech.
A quick break from Chelsea saw Timo Werner get in behind the Liverpool defence and charge towards goal, and the German squared the ball to Ziyech in the box who tapped past Kelleher to send the game to extra time.
No one could find a winner in the added 30 minutes, so the final was to be settled on penalties.
Jorginho, Werner and Azpilicueta all scored from the spot for Chelsea in the first four shots, with Ziyech missing his effort.
Fabinho and Mohamed Salah both scored for the Reds, but misses from James Milner and Sadio Mane meant that it was down to Thiago Silva's penalty to decide the final.
The Brazilian stepped up, and his penalty was dispatched into the top right corner and away from the 'keeper, meaning Chelsea were crowned the winners of the Carabao Cup.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties)
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Thiago Silva could score the decisive penalty for Chelsea after a 1-1 draw in normal time against Liverpool, with the Blues winning 4-2 on penalties in the simulation to win the Carabao Cup final.
But this simulation also predicts a very tight final, with Ziyech having to score a very late equaliser to keep the Blues in the game!
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
