CUP FINAL FACTS

For only the second time, the same sides (Chelsea and Liverpool) will vie for the League Cup and FA Cup final in the same campaign. The previous time was 1992-93, when Arsenal beat Sheffield Wednesday in both finals. A repeat of the 2021-22 LC final, the Reds will look to win both of England’s domestic cup competitions in the same season for the first time since 2000-01. The last team to lose the league and FA Cup final in the same year were Middlesbrough in 1996-97. This will be the fourth meeting of the season between Liverpool and the Blues – the other three matches all ending level, despite the Reds lifting the League Cup trophy via penalties in February. The last fixture between two English top-flight sides to see more draws in the same campaign was Arsenal v Chelsea in 2017-18 (4).

The Reds and Chelsea have met once before in the FA Cup final, doing so in 2012 which the Blues won 2-1 thanks to goals from Ramires and Didier Drogba. This will be Chelsea’s 16th appearance in the competition’s final compared to the Liverpool’s 15th, the third and fourth most occasions of all sides behind Manchester United (20) and Arsenal (21).

Chelsea are the first side to qualify for three consecutive FA Cup finals since Arsenal between 2000-01 and 2002-03. However, after losing in both 2019-20 (v Arsenal) and 2020-21 (v Leicester), they are looking to avoid being the first side since Newcastle in 1998-99 to lose three finals in a row in the competition (also losing in 1973-74 & 1997-98).

Liverpool have lifted the trophy in exactly 50 percent of their 14 prior FA Cup final appearances (7), the jointthird lowest success ratio of the nine finalist sides to have been there at least 10 times, ahead of Everton (5/13 – 38%) and Newcastle (6/13 – 46%). The last two winners of the FA Cup, Arsenal (2019-20) and Leicester (2020-21) have ended up finishing lower than their opponents (Chelsea) in both seasons. The lower-ranked team at the end of the season hasn’t won the FA Cup in three consecutive years since 1976 to 1978 – Southampton (vs Man Utd), Manchester United (vs Liverpool) and Ipswich Town (vs Arsenal).