The 141st FA Cup final is mere hours away, and Liverpool and Chelsea will return to Wembley for a replay of this years’ Carabao Cup final. Liverpool aiming to make it 2 out of 4 possible trophies, and Chelsea determined to gain some silverware success this season after the comedown of last years’ Champions League win (and of course the subsequent World Championship win).

With a possible quadruple on the cards still (in case you weren’t aware) for Liverpool, they need success in the final, otherwise this dream is over and could possibly derail the huge games left to come this month. Meanwhile for Chelsea, their domestic silverware efforts have been thwarted at every opportunity this season, and with the disappointment of the Champions League exit now behind them, all focus is on this 90 minute performance.

So many questions for us to discuss and make bold (and ridiculous predictions) over in this preview, and we will do our best to give you our personal view of how the final could play out. If you have anything to add, question or ridicule us for, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and tell us how you think this game plays out.

Form

Both sides obviously enter the final, unbeaten in the competition, and so their FA Cup forms make perfect reading. Looking into their respective routes to the final, it’s perhaps Liverpool who had a slightly trickier path to Wembley, beating Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Norwich, Cardiff and Shrewsbury to get here, whereas Chelsea had to contend with Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Luton, Plymouth and Chesterfield.

With each team avoiding potential banana-skin slipups to lower league opposition earlier in the tournament, it’s the Liverpool win over City in their semi-final which will be the biggest boost for the Reds. Ending 3-2 to Klopp’s men, it was the manner of victory that impressed many, with Liverpool managing to get 3-0 up at half-time before City picked up second-half consolation goals. Although billed as a close matchup which they often have been, Liverpool showed no mercy and dominated the game to give them a secure place in Saturday’s final. Chelsea will be fearful of the same fate of a blistering start from Liverpool’s dangerous attack, and despite their consistently solid victories in the competition, the early close calls against Plymouth and Luton may well still be playing in their minds.

Away from the competition, it’s the form across all competitions which will perhaps give either side a boost in confidence. Liverpool of course have a stunning record across all competitions, with their last loss coming in early March to Inter Milan in a game that meant nothing to their qualification anyway. You have to go back to December to see their last away loss, meaning that even at Wembley they will feel like they can replicate the famous Anfield noise and have no fear of playing on the road. Chelsea may take some optimism however from the manner of recent results, Looking back at their last 3 games, the scores may well make great reading, but in context of the games, it’s perhaps shown some nerves coming from the Liverpool side with pressure mounting. The Villarreal second leg was almost a huge upset as they entered half-time level on aggregate and 2-0 down on the night, The introduction of Luis Diaz returned the game back to Klopp’s favour, however it showed signs of weakness and frailty that Chelsea may look to pounce upon. From here, the dropped points against Spurs and then the close victory over Villa midweek would suggest that despite winning 2 of their last 3 and keeping their unbeaten run, the form isn’t as convincing as many have expected and with the buzz around a big final like this, it may well give Tuchel some hope.

Chelsea however won’t enjoy looking at the form tables, as in their last 6 they have won just 2 against West Ham and midweek over Leeds. A comfortable midweek run out will be a boost for the Blues, however the weekend draw with Wolves and late collapse from 2-0 up will worry Chelsea supporters as they will be well aware of how ruthless Liverpool can be in the closing stages. Although struggling perhaps in the closing stages of the league, this game is arguably all Chelsea have left to play for, and with the new owner in attendance, they will be desperate to end the campaign with silverware, especially given last seasons’ success in cup competition.

Both sides will have a feeling of optimism from their recent form, and with the pressure being on Liverpool to continue their impressive run, and actually make it count for silverware, could Chelsea perhaps see this as an opportunity to ruin the party for Liverpool before it’s really begun.

Team News

It appears that Liverpool’s injury woes of previous seasons has halted at just the right time for Jurgen Klopp, as his treatment room appears clear ahead of this big game. The doubt of a potential injury for Firmino seems to be clearing as he returned to the bench midweek, however I doubt to see him feature for longer than 20-30 minutes towards the end if his side need the extra firepower.

Aside from this, they have lost midfield man Fabinho, who’s hamstring injury will definitely rule him out of the FA Cup final, however Klopp will hope he can return to the midfield for the Champions League final in a few short weeks. This will create a potential hole in the midfield, however with Keita, Henderson and Thiago making up the midfield 3, they should be fairly unconcerned for this one, no matter the loss of Fabinho.

From the Aston Villa win in midweek, we would expect Robertson, Salah, Thiago, Henderson and Konate to return to the starting XI, and despite the cup success of Kelleher, Alisson is surely the no.1 pick between the sticks for this one.

Liverpool Predicted Line-up: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Thiago, Henderson, Keita, Salah, Diaz, Mane

Chelsea meanwhile are perhaps suffering slightly more on the injury front. Kovacic received a hefty challenge from Dan James midweek which will almost definitely rule him out of contention. Additionally, Kante is a potential gamble, and Tuchel stated earlier in the week it will most likely be the pairing of Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek in midfield suggesting Kante isn’t quite ready to return to the starting XI.

Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi will definitely be missing still for the Blues, however it’s up top where perhaps the biggest questions will be for Thomas Tuchel. Lukaku has had well documented issues within the squad at Chelsea, however when involved he has been quite clinical, especially in the weekend’s draw with Wolves and then getting another against Leeds midweek. I expect him to start this game and silence a few critics in the process. The remaining attacking roles again could be anyone’s to take, as Pulisic netted midweek, Werner has been massively in-form in the FA Cup this season (2 goals, 3 assists) and Havertz has been rested ahead of the final to most likely return to the starting XI. Both sides obviously blessed with attacking firepower could make this one hell of a final.

Chelsea Predicted Line-up: Mendy, Azpilicueta, James, Silva, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Havertz, Lukaku

Predictions

It’s a tough prediction to call at this stage, as both sides can put forward a claim for why they should be winning this one. Liverpool of course would be favourites on paper, however with the pressures of fighting on several fronts still forefront of their thinking, it may prove too much on the day and cause a few slip-ups and errors which could give Chelsea, a side who have only this game to play for in their season, the advantage.

Additionally, with a few minor injury concerns on either side, both managers may be forced to alter some tactical decisions prior to the game, or risk a few players who’s fitness may not see them through the full 90 minutes, thus again leaving many questions in this game yet to be answered.

Personally, I foresee goals, something that big finals have often lacked, and even back in the Carabao Cup final we failed to see, however in this one, with both sides now feeling they have a lot at stake in this one game, and with nothing left for one side to play for they need to be going all-out for the win. Likewise, a Liverpool loss could derail what has been an incredible effort thus far. As a result, I’m definitely expecting over 2.5 goals.

On the scoresheet today, I am also predicting the ‘big hitters’ from either side to make their mark. Mo Salah will get on the scoresheet as an almost formality, and on the other side, if he is played from the outset, I expect Lukaku to be a handful for the Liverpool defence and get his goal. One striker playing at the top of his game, and the other struggling to make the starting XI, however both will lead their team through example and get in on the goal action.

My final prediction is perhaps the most bold of any made in this preview (even more than a high scoring final between these sides, and Lukaku starting/scoring), and that is that Chelsea will come out of Wembley as the victors on the day. I think it will be only a 1 goal lead, possibly a 2-1/3-2 victory, however I just think Liverpool have hit a few snags in the previous few matches, and despite overcoming all obstacles so far, and being labelled as the ‘mentality monsters’, they do have a slip up incoming and I think this game will be the game that could throw them off-course for their incredible quadruple efforts. As I say, this is perhaps a bold call, and I will more than likely be made to look foolish come the full-time whistle, however something is telling me, Lukaku will have a top performance, quiet a few doubters and take the silverware back home to Stamford Bridge for his side.

What do you think? Are we being bold, or just plain stupid? Head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you make of our predictions and get involved in our poll running on who you think will end the day as FA Cup winners 2021/2022.