Chelsea will host Spanish league leaders Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday evening, with the Blues looking to gain the advantage in the 1st leg.
After overcoming French champions Lille 4-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16, the Blues were drawn against Real Madrid after their impressive comeback against Paris Saint-Germain saw them advance. The Blues met Real in the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, where Thomas Tuchel's side won 3-1 over two legs to reach the final.
Chelsea enter the Champions League clash on the back of a shock defeat, with the Blues losing 4-1 at home to Brentford. Tuchel will be hoping his side can clear their minds of the defeat for the match against the Spanish leaders, who currently sit 12 points clear at the top of their league.
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Ben Chilwell is the only guaranteed absentee for Chelsea on Wednesday night, whilst Callum Hudson-Odoi was absent from training on Monday. Tuchel will be boosted by the return of Reece James though, with the set to potentially return to the starting XI, while Christian Pulisic is also available for selection.
So, what line-up will Tuchel select? And, what could the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a Champions League score prediction for Chelsea vs Real Madrid on Wednesday evening and this is what happened...
Chelsea vs Real Madrid 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 3-4-2-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Ziyech, Mount; Havertz.
We predict that Carlo Ancelotti's side could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
Chelsea started the game as the stronger side, with the Blues peppering the Los Blancos goal with chances. Their bright start saw Hakim Ziyech and Reece James both test Thibaut Courtois from range, but the former Chelsea goalkeeper was equal to their efforts.
A switch in play saw Ziyech's control fall into the path of James, with the defender's inverted run not tracked by the visitor's backline. After one touch out of his feet, James had to rush his shot as he came under pressure, but his effort was tipped around the post by Courtois.
The Blues continued their pressure in the first half as Los Blancos failed to reply, with both sides entering half-time at 0-0. After their strong first half, Chelsea continued in the second, and they found the opener through Marcos Alonso.
After being thread through by Jorginho, Alonso managed to latch onto the pass, but the chance seemed gone as the angle became extremely tight. Despite this, the Spaniard took aim, and his powerful effort swerved towards goal, fizzing off the inside of the post and into the net.
The goal seemed to be a big wake up call to Real Madrid, with the Spanish side suddenly carving out chances and taking control in midfield. Karim Benzema came close when he hit the side netting from close range, but Toni Kroos came closest 15 minutes from the end.
Benzema did well to hold off the Chelsea pressure, and he found Kroos' run towards the box as the German peeled away from Jorginho. As Silva slid in to try and block off Kroos, the midfielder curled a fantastic effort towards goal, but Mendy scrambled across his goal to palm the effort wide.
Chelsea tightened up at the back after the flurry of pressure from Real, and the Blues regained control. Neither side created any real chances in the last few minutes as Tuchel's side sat back with the ball and saw out a crucial 1-0 win.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Chelsea 1-0 Real Madrid
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Chelsea could put in one of their best performances of the season against Real Madrid, with a second-half goal from Marcos Alonso all that separated the two sides. Despite their domination, Madrid did come close on two occasions, signifying Chelsea must be wary of the visitors attacking threat.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
