History bid or Wembley revenge? — The big question as Chelsea, Liverpool clash in FA Cup final

Chelsea and Liverpool line up in the 141st FA Cup final at Wembley this Saturday evening – precisely at 16:45 BST.

Liverpool, who beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final in February, are chasing an unprecedented quadruple after reaching the Champions League final, while they are three points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League with two games to go.

Eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea are appearing in the final for the third successive season – and fifth in six seasons – after finishing runners-up to Arsenal in 2020 under Frank Lampard and Leicester City in 2021 under Thomas Tuchel.

“It will be another hard fight, given the quality and run of form of Liverpool,” said Tuchel. “But this is what a cup final is all about.”

When asked about Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s comments that “everyone in the country supported Liverpool”, Tuchel replied: “It is hard to really argue with him on it.

“There’s a huge sympathy for Liverpool in the country, which is fair enough. They work hard for it. Jurgen Klopp is the master of being the underdog. He can talk you into it.

“There is nothing to be jealous of from my side. Klopp is a fantastic guy, a funny guy and one of the best coaches in the world. If we are the bad guys tomorrow no problem. We take that role.

“We don’t want the sympathy of the whole country, we want the trophy at the end of the day.”

Liverpool are appearing in their first final since 2012, when they were defeated 2-1 by Chelsea.

Chelsea have won the competition five times since the Reds last lifted the FA Cup in 2006.

“Liverpool supporters make occasions like this their own,” said Reds boss Jurgen Klopp. “I love it so much. Because the one thing none of us can guarantee on a day like this is the result.”

It is the first FA Cup final to be played in front of a capacity crowd at Wembley since Manchester City beat Watford 6-0 in 2019 watched by 85,854 fans.

Coronavirus restrictions meant the 2020 final between Arsenal and Chelsea was played behind closed doors while a reduced crowd of 20,000 watched last season’s final between Leicester and Chelsea.

The FA Cup – the world’s longest-running knockout football competition – is celebrating its 150th anniversary, having started in the 1871-72 season.

The final will be decided on the day and teams will be able to name nine substitutes and make five substitutions, with a sixth allowed if it goes to extra time.

Chelsea midfielders Mateo Kovacic (ankle) and Ngolo Kante will face late fitness tests, while Liverpool midfielder Fabinho will miss out with a hamstring problem.

This is the first time that the same teams have met in the both the EFL Cup and FA Cup finals in the same season since Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday did so in 1993.

On 27 February, the Reds won a dramatic penalty shootout to secure the EFL Cup.

Since then, Klopp’s side have reached the Champions League final – where they will meet Real Madrid in Paris on 28 May – in addition to securing a place in the FA Cup final.

Klopp is the first manager to reach the finals of the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.

Saturday’s final will be the 10th time Liverpool and Chelsea have met in three seasons.

Six Premier League meetings in that time have resulted in three wins for Klopp’s side, one victory for the Blues and two draws.

Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-0 the last time the sides met in the FA Cup, in March 2020 at the fifth-round stage.

Seven months earlier, Liverpool had defeated Chelsea 5-4 on penalties to win the Uefa Super Cup in Istanbul – one of five trophies the Reds have won since Klopp was appointed manager in October 2015.

But despite winning the Premier League, Champions League, League Cup, Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup, the FA Cup has so far eluded the German.

Will Klopp finally gets his hands on the famous trophy this weekend?

Did you know? Liverpool could win both of England’s domestic cup competitions in the same season for the first time since 2000-01.

Four major finals in one year and 108 days

Having been in charge of Chelsea for just one year and 108 days, Tuchel is preparing to take charge of his fourth major final at the club.

Last season, two weeks after his side were beaten by Leicester in the FA Cup final, the Blues were crowned champions of Europe after a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

Despite winning the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup this season, the defeat by Liverpool on penalties in the Carabao Cup final hurt.

Tuchel is hoping his players will use the pain of that defeat to motivate them on Saturday.

“We want to get them back, simple as that,” Chelsea’s England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek said.

Chelsea arrive at Wembley on the back of one win in four games, while their future was thrown into uncertainty after sanctions were placed on Russian owner Roman Abramovich in March.

Klopp described Tuchel as a “magnificent leader” for leading the team through uncertain times.

“My respect for Thomas was already as high as you could imagine,” added Klopp.

“Then add in what he has had to contend with off the pitch in recent weeks and months and this respect makes even more sense.”

Did you know? Chelsea are the first side to reach three consecutive FA Cup finals since Arsenal between 2000-01 and 2002-03.

What does it mean for European qualification?

The FA Cup winners qualify for the group stages of the 2022-23 Europa League, as well as for the Community Shield before the start of next season’s Premier League.

But Liverpool can finish no lower than second in the Premier League so will play in the Champions League group stage next season.

And while Chelsea are not yet mathematically guaranteed a top-four finish, which secures a place in the Champions League, one more win would seal it.

At worst, Chelsea will be fifth and qualify for the Europa League via their league position.

So with the spot reserved for the FA Cup winners not needed, the teams who finish sixth and seventh in the Premier League, currently Manchester United and West Ham, would enter the Europa League and Europa Conference League respectively. (Adapted from a BBC report)