Paris Saint-Germain hold a slim advantage over Real Madrid ahead of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 2nd leg on Wednesday evening.
Ligue 1 side PSG scored a dramatic late winner at Parc des Princes in the 1st leg, with Kylian Mbappe making it 1-0 in the 93rd minute, giving Mauricio Pochettino's men a slight advantage heading into the 2nd leg at Santiago Bernabeu.
But Los Blancos will be without three key players against the French side, with Casemiro and Ferland Mendy both suspended, and Toni Kroos sidelined by injury.
Midfielders Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde are expected to come in to replace Casemiro and Kroos, with Carlo Ancelotti having either Nacho or Marcelo as candidates to replace Mendy at left-back.
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Pochettino's side also have a few injury problems, with Ander Herrera and Sergio Ramos both ruled out through injury, whilst there are injury concerns over both Kylian Mbappe and Leandro Paredes, but Mbappe is still expected to start.
So, what will the score be between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night? And, who will advance to the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals? We simulated the game on FIFA 22 to find out, and this is what happened.
Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain score predicted by simulation
To get a score prediction, we used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, letting the AI play against each other. We then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself.
And we predict that Real Madrid could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Marcelo; Valverde, Camavinga, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
We predict that PSG could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Mendes; Gueye, Pereira, Verratti; Neymar, Messi, Mbappe.
Paris Saint-Germain quickly took control of the 2nd leg, with two first-half goals giving the French side a commanding lead. It took only eight minutes for Pochettino's men to breach Madrid's defence, with Mbappe opening the scoring.
The goal came from a mistake from Los Blancos, with Thibaut Courtois playing a wayward pass towards Alaba, which was cut out by Mbappe, and the striker produced a great finish into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
And eight minutes before half-time it was 2-0, with midfielder Marco Verratti finishing off a superb team move. Following a long period of possession, Lionel Messi found the Italian inside the area, and he produced a powerful left-foot effort that flew into the near post.
With the tie now 3-0 on aggregate, PSG were now in complete control.
In the second half, Madrid were much-improved but were still unable to dominate possession, with Messi dropping deeper to help the French side keep the ball in the final third.
But the home side did grab a goal back with six minutes of the game remaining, as substitute Isco produced a great finish with the outside of his foot into the far corner, but it was too little too late for Madrid as they crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Real Madrid 1-2 PSG
Here are the complete full-time match stats from our simulation. As you can see, PSG dominated the game overall, having more possession, more shots on goal and a higher xG value.
FIFA 22 predicts that despite Real Madrid being at home in the 2nd leg, PSG's extra quality in attack has the potential to inflict major damage, particularly without Kroos and Casemiro. This simulation predicts that two first-half goals could effectively kill off Madrid's hopes of advancing to the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals, despite a late consolation, with PSG advancing at their expense.
What do you think the score will be? Let us know in the comments.
FIFA 22 is the latest title 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.
