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Former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchinson previewed the much-anticipated FA Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool as the two sides look to pip one another at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Hutchinson made 26 appearances for the Scottish national team and is a household name in English football, having represented Liverpool, Everton and West Ham United, among others.
In a media round table ahead of the FA Cup final, the 50-year-old told Sportskeeda that he expects Liverpool to get their hands on the trophy over the Blues, as was the case in the Carabao Cup final in February.
"I think this one will be decided in 90 minutes, I don't think Chelsea are in amazing form. Liverpool will get the job done, but it'll be a great game. I'm going to go 3-1 to Liverpool!"
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Hutchinson lauds Liverpool and Chelsea's attackers ahead of FA Cup final
Both Liverpool and Chelsea have a handful of world-class players in their squad and also locked horns in the 2022 Carabao Cup final. In what went down as an entertaining game, the two sides finished all square after 120 minutes of football as neither of them found the back of the net on the night.
In the penalty shootout that followed, Liverpool came up trumps 11-10 as Kepa Arrizabalaga missed his spot-kick after Reds goalkeeper Caiohmin Kelleher managed to score.
When asked by Sportskeeda to name players across both teams who could turn out to be x-factors, Hutchinson said:
"From Chelsea's point of view, you'd look at someone like Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Timo Werner, who does a lot of unselfish work for the team.
"Liverpool have got so many - a front three of Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah is what I expect. The three of them are really, really different players. Diaz is incredible in terms of his aggression and the way he takes players on, his work rate as well.
"Salah's been off form a little bit since he's come back from the AFCON, looks a little bit jaded. In an FA Cup final, if you're looking at Mo Salah, he'll produce. He's that good and he turns up in the big game. Liverpool's most in-form player at the moment is Sadio Mane - he's an incredible player!"
With just over two weeks to go until the 2021-22 European football season concludes, Liverpool are still competing on all fronts. Having won the Carabao Cup earlier this year, Jurgen Klopp's side are embroiled in a thrilling Premier League title race against Manchester City and also have a UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid to look forward to.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have endured a tumultuous time in 2022 due to issues pertaining to their ownership. Thomas Tuchel and co are well-positioned to finish third in the Premier League and could finish the season on a positive note by winning their third trophy of the season, having already won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Which of these two sides will prevail at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday? Only time will tell.
Watch the LIVE coverage of The Emirates FA Cup 2021/22 Final - Liverpool vs Chelsea on SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu) channels on 14th May 2022 from 9:15 pm (IST)
