Plymouth Argyle vs Liverpool simulated as Federico Chiesa becomes FA Cup hero
After securing their spot in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool will be looking to pick up another win in the FA Cup this weekend when the Reds face Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the competition.
Goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk secured a 4-0 win for Liverpool over Tottenham midweek, with the victory sending the Reds to the Carabao Cup final after a 4-1 aggregate win against Spurs. The cup final clash against Newcastle United will take place next month, but for now, attention turns to the FA Cup, where Arne Slot is expected to rotate against Championship side Plymouth.
A 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley set up Liverpool's clash with Plymouth, with the Pilgrims beating Brentford 1-0 to earn themselves a spot in the fourth round. The two sides last met in the FA Cup back in 2017, where Lucas Leiva scored the only goal of the game as the Reds won 1-0 in a third-round replay.
READ MORE: Liverpool line-ups as Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota decisions made vs Plymouth Argyle
READ MORE: Liverpool fixture challenge becomes clear after Jurgen Klopp caught out by Plymouth
The likes of Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas are all expected to start on the weekend, with regular starters like Ryan Gravenberch, Salah, and Van Dijk all expected to be rested ahead of the Merseyside derby clash against Everton in the Premier League next Wednesday.
So, can Liverpool secure their spot in the fifth round later today and avoid a cup upset? Let's take a look...
Plymouth Argyle vs Liverpool score predicted
To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the hosts could set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Hazard; Pleguezuelo, Katic, Talovierov; Sorinola, Randell, Houghton, Puchacz; Hardie, Hajj; Bundu.
We predict that Liverpool could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Kelleher; Bradley, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; McConnell, Endo; Elliott, Jones, Chiesa; Jota.
Liverpool were dominant in the first half in Devon, but Conor Hazard was on top form to keep the score level, with the 'keeper making some big saves to deny Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, and Tsimikas from getting on the scoresheet. Not long after the restart, the hosts thought they had taken a lead against the run of play when Mustapha Bundo got ahead of Jarell Quansah before firing home, but the flag was up, and the striker was offside.
As the game went on, the home side grew in confidence, with Plymouth defending well to keep Liverpool at bay, despite the Reds' best efforts in front of goal. Chiesa had five shots saved in what was a frustrating afternoon for the Italian, but in the 85th minute, fortune was on his side as Liverpool went ahead.
Conor Bradley and Elliot exchanged passes on the right before the latter cut inside and surged towards goal, beating two defenders in the process. Elliott fizzed a pass across goal for Chiesa, and his first-time shot took a wicked deflection to wrong-foot the 'keeper and find the net, making it 1-0 late on.
Plymouth were unable to find an equaliser as Slot's side picked up the win in the FA Cup fourth round.
