Manchester City will be looking to reach their first FA Cup final since the 2018/19 season on Saturday when they face Liverpool at Wembley.
After their thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League last Sunday which saw City remain top of the table, the two sides meet again less than a week later in the FA Cup. A place in the cup final is up for grabs, with the winner of the clash set to play either Chelsea or Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola's side were pushed to their limits in their Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, with the game having a big mental and physical impact on the City players. With the Champions League game falling just days before the FA Cup semi-final, Guardiola may be forced to make some changes to his starting XI.
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Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker both picked up injuries against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, and the duo look set to miss Saturday's meeting with Liverpool. Ruben Dias made a return to the bench for City on Wednesday, but Guardiola may not want to rush the defender back from injury on Saturday.
So, what line-ups will both teams select and what could the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Man City vs Liverpool on Saturday and this is what happened.
Man City vs Liverpool score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode on 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 City could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Ake, Laporte; Silva, Rodri, Gundogan; Jesus, Sterling, Grealish.
We predict that Liverpool could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Unlike the previous meeting in the Premier League, it was Liverpool who took control early on, testing Ederson with multiple attempts in the first 20 minutes. The Reds' pressure was relentless, and it paid off 35 minutes in when Mohamed Salah found the opener.
After picking up the ball out wide on the left, the winger cut in towards goal, charging at the City backline. Salah faked a shot on his left to cut past the committed Nathan Ake, and the Egyptian took Ederson by surprise as he shot early with his right foot, catching his shot sweetly and finding the far corner of the net.
Salah's goal was enough to send Liverpool into the break ahead, with City not looking up to scratch in the first half. The second half continued in the same manner and the Reds found their second of the afternoon through Roberto Firmino.
Salah fizzed a pass across the edge of the box to find Firmino unmarked on the edge, and the Brazilian shifted the ball onto his left foot as he found a sight of goal. The striker quickly pushed the ball out of his feet before rifling a curling effort into the top corner, leaving Ederson with no chance.
Liverpool had the momentum, and just minutes after scoring, Firmino grabbed a second and Liverpool's third of the afternoon. Substitute Naby Keita threaded a perfect pass through to Firmino and the striker's shot deflected off the leg of Ederson and trickled into the net.
At 3-0 down, the game looked over for City who needed three goals for extra-time, and four to advance to the final. But, an error in the Liverpool defence saw Jack Grealish pull a goal back in the 87th minute.
Alisson attempted a pass into midfield from outside his box on the right, but it was underhit, allowing City to charge forward with no goalkeeper guarding the goal. Grealish picked up the ball on the edge of the box and curled an effort into the far corner of an empty net, despite Alisson's best efforts to scramble back.
The goal gave City the push they needed, albeit too late into the game. Guardiola's side started to terrorise the Liverpool backline and they found a second goal in the 89th minute, setting up a tense final few minutes of the game.
Bernardo Silva played a long ball over the top for Phil Foden to chase, and the substitute beat Liverpool's high line, putting him one-on-one with Alisson. Foden looked to have created a difficult angle to find the net from, but he drilled a fantastic effort across goal and into the bottom corner to make it 3-2.
City did leave their pressure too late and Guardiola's side couldn't find a third to take it to extra-time. The full-time whistle went, with Liverpool advancing.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Man City 2-3 Liverpool
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Liverpool could take advantage of a poor City performance in the FA Cup on Saturday, taking a dominant 3-0 lead after 60 minutes. The simulation showed how dangerous City can be when they are at their best as they scored two in the final five minutes, proving that City could definitely advance to the final if they are at their best over 90 minutes.
What do you think the score will be? Let us know in the comments below.
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