Manchester City begin their Carabao Cup journey on Wednesday night when they host Chelsea in the third round of the competition.
In what is the penultimate game before the 2022 World Cup, City enter the clash with Chelsea on the back of a dramatic win, with Erling Haaland’s late winner securing a 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday. City were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round last season, and Pep Guardiola will be looking to rediscover the impressive form they’ve shown in this competition previously.
The two meetings between City and Chelsea last season both saw Guardiola’s side edge past the Blues with narrow 1-0 wins. Joao Cancelo will be suspended for the clash with Chelsea following his red card against Fulham, meaning 17-year-old Rico Lewis could be deployed by Guardiola.
READ MORE: City issue injury update on Erling Haaland for Chelsea game
So, how could City fare against Chelsea on Wednesday night in their Carabao Cup opener? Let's take a look.
Man City vs Chelsea simulated
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that City could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ortega; Lewis, Dias, Laporte, Gomez; Foden, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish.
We predict that the visitors could line up in a 3-5-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Koulibaly; Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Zakaria, Gallagher, Cucurella; Pulisic, Broja.
City began the contest in full control, with Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez both being denied with some top-quality saves in the opening 20 minutes of the game. If it wasn't for Edouard Mendy, the visitors could've been down a few goals in the opening half an hour, but the goalkeeper was beaten just before half-time as Bernardo Silva made it 1-0.
Rodri made a strong challenge in midfield to win the ball back for City, allowing the hosts to hit Chelsea on the counterattack. Bernardo burst into the box and was found with an acute pass from Jack Grealish, and in his stride, the midfielder curled his shot around the goalkeeper to send City into the break with the lead.
As the second half started, City found themselves pegged back a little, with the visitors starting to create a few chances of their own. Despite this, City didn't look concerned at the back, but an error handed the visitors an equaliser in the 80th minute.
As City started to play out from a goal kick, Rodri was pressured by the visitors' high press, ultimately giving up possession on the edge of his own box. Mateo Kovacic tapped a pass through to substitute Hakim Ziyech inside the box, and the Moroccan fired past Ederson to level the score.
After 90 minutes, the game finished 1-1, meaning the third-round tie would be settled on penalties. City took first as Phil Foden missed the opening penalty, but Guardiola's side scored three out of their next four, with Mahrez, Haaland and Gundogan scoring from the spot.
The star of the show was Stefan Ortega in goal for City, with the goalkeeper saving penalties from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jorginho to put the pressure on Cesar Azpilicueta for the final spot-kick. The Chelsea captain aimed for the far left corner, but Ortega made his third save of the shootout to secure the victory for City.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Man City 1-1 Chelsea (City win 3-2 on penalties)
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 23 predicts that City could advance to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a win against Chelsea. Mendy denied Guardiola's side on plenty of occasions in the first half which ultimately took the game to penalties, but even better goalkeeping from Ortega won the shootout for City.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments.
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