TOTW 31 Predictions

Starting Eleven

Picking our selections was tougher than ever this week. So many players had a great match and stats, figures and ratings were all so similar that people simply had to be left out. Make sure you take a look at the honorable mentions list at the end of this article, as we highlight all those that we believe could make the final cut!

Donnarumma

AC Milan were hosts to Napoli for their Serie A clash this weekend and despite both sides best efforts, the match ended in a 0-0 draw. Now this certainly wouldn't have been the case if it wasn't for the youngster, Donnarumma, in goal. His performance across the 90 minutes was fantastic and his save in the final moments of stoppage time was absolutely breathtaking to say the least.

Naldo

Germany is our next stop, where we find Schalke and Dortmund facing off towards the top of the table. With Champions League spaces so tight, both sides were desperate for the three points here, but despite Dortmund's best efforts, it simply wasn't their day. With Batshuayi out for the season and a 2-0 loss to Schalke, things are looking pretty bleak for them, however Schalke's fortunes are a completely different story. Naldo was the man of the match, a defensive masterclass to ensure the clean sheet alongside one of the two goals, perfection.

Raul Silva

Portugal is where we find our second center-back of this line up, and what a phenomenal season Raul Silva has had. Time after time he is defensively brilliant, while constantly proving he has something to contribute to the attack as well. While he may not have quite managed a clean sheet, with the match ending 5-1, the 3 assists he provided will surely more than make up for this.

Svensson

AZ Alkmaar were on the road to Heracles for their weekend fixture, and in a game of three goals, all three went to the visitors. Not only was Svensson absolutely brilliant at the back, but he proved that he also has a has a brilliant attacking mentality. Providing two assists and maintaining the clean sheet, should be enough for his spot this week.

Debuchy

Saint-Etienne were away to Strasbourg for their Ligue 1 match and in a an incredibly tight match, it was the visitors who managed to steal a 1-0 win. The ex-Arsenal defender, Debuchy, was the man of the hour, defensively great and also the scorer of the game's only goal.

Isco

Real Madrid are most likely still celebrating their last-minute winner against Juventus last week, now whether or not the penalty was correct is still debatable, however Isco's incredible performance on the weekend is something that we can all agree on. Madrid beat Malaga 2-1 and Isco played a part in both goals, scoring once and assisting the second.

Lo Celso

PSG may have already won the league, but this doesn’t mean they want to let momentum slip. Once again, they showed just how dominant they are in France, with an incredible 7-1 victory over Monaco. Now there were plenty of possible team of the week candidates, however Lo Celso, with 2 goals and an incredible match rating, is the man who receives our pick.

Thiago

Bayern Munich were hosts to Gladbach for their weekend fixture, and while the league may already be wrapped up, they once again showed their quality and just why they are in the final four of the Champions League. In a dominating 5-1 victory, there were plenty of players who could have made our list. Wagner with 2 goals, Muller with 2 assists, Alaba with a goal, but we decided that Thiago was the man for us. With a goal and the man of the match award, could we see yet another PTG receive an upgrade this week?

Coutinho

Staying in Spain for this selection, as we move from Madrid to their biggest rivals, Barcelona. Surprisingly both sides managed to secure the same result, with the same score line, and the one thing that Isco and Coutinho have in common this week, is that both goals included themselves. Coutinho may not have actually scored, however providing both assists and securing the man of the match award may just be enough to see him pick up his first Barcelona inform.

Douglas Costa

Juventus were hosts to Sampdoria for their league fixture and in a comfortable 3-0 victory, there were plenty of standout performances. Now this was a tougher decision than it needed to be, as while Costa provided 3 assists and was simply breathtaking, Howedes was also monumental at the back, ensuring the clean sheet and also scoring one of the goals. While Costa is our pick, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Howedes sneak into the lineup, either instead of or alongside his team-mate.

Giroud

While Arsenal continue to struggle when attempting to find consistency, players that have left the club this year continue to strive. Giroud has most likely secured himself his first Chelsea inform since his January transfer after coming on as a super-sub and turning a 0-2 score line into a 3-2 victory for Chelsea. Two goals are usually enough for a Premier League striker and I would expect to see this man make the list.

Substitutes

Foster

Bottom of the table and practically relegated West Brom were away to a Manchester United side who have a near flawless home record in the league. This match was meant to be one-way traffic, however is proof that stats and figures mean absolutely nothing, it's all about how players preform on the day. West Brom left as 1-0 winners, and while the whole team was incredible, Foster in goal is the man who gets our vote.

Mariano

Galatasary were at home to Istanbul Basaksehir for their weekend fixture and in a game of just two goals, both went in favor of the hosts. Mariano was brilliant from start to finish, defensively fantastic and also devastating going forward. With a clean sheet and a goal to his name, we could be seeing this man's first inform of the year.

Halliche

Estoril were on the road this weekend, as they travelled to Portimonense for their league fixture. The match itself was incredibly tight, and a single goal was all that seperated the two sides. Halliche was the man behind this goal and when we consider that this man is a center-back, who was also defensively perfect, we have a real team of the week contender on our hands.

Moralez

Over to America next where New York City FC played hosts to Salt Lake for their MLS fixture. It looks like the visitors may not have had the best of journeys, as they were dominated from start to finish in a match that ended 4-0. Moralez was simply breathtaking throughout, scoring once, assisting another and picking up a near perfect match rating as well.

Miranchuk

Russia is our next destination, where we found Dinamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow going head to head in the Moscow derby. Sadly, this match was all one-way traffic from the start, with the visitors ending the game as 4-0 winners. Miranchuk was unstoppable, scoring twice and absolutely terrifying Dinamo's defense.

Perez

After Arsenal picked up an early goal through Lacazette, it looked like they had finally found some form and would continue to pick up their third league win in a row. For those of us that believed this however, we were in for a surprise. A 29th minute goal from Perez evened up the match before half-time and then a winner from Ritchie secured the points mid-way through the second half. A game like this deserves some recognition, and Perez with a goal and an assist is the man who gets it here.

McGree

Our next trip takes us across the world, down to Australia, where Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets played out their weekend fixture. The game itself consisted of 10 goals, 8 of which went in favor of the visitors. McGree was simply unstoppable, scoring not once, not twice, but three times to secure his hat-trick and 3 points for his club.

Babel

Besiktas were on the road this weekend as they travelled to their hosts, Akhisarspor. The match ended 3-0 to Besiktas and while there were plenty of top tier performances, Babel was simply incredible throughout. Scoring twice and causing all sorts of problems for the opposition, he gets our vote this week.

Linssen

Vitesse were at home to Sparta Rotterdam for their weekend fixture, and in a game that provided us with 7 goals, all 7 went in favor of the hosts. Linssen was practically perfect, scoring twice, assisting a third and securing himself a perfect 10.0 match rating.

Zaha

The Premier League relegation battle is in full swing, and with so many sides still within reach of the drop, each and every point has never meant more. Crystal Palace were hosts to relegation rivals Brighton on the weekend, and in a 5-goal thriller, they just managed to edge out a 3-2 victory. Zaha was the man of the hour, scoring twice and dominating the attack.

Harbaoui

Zulte-Waregem were hosts to Royal Excel Mouscron and during a 6-goal match, 5 of them went in favor of the hosts. Harbaoui was simply amazing, scoring not once, not twice, not even three times, but four, yes four goals during this win. If we don’t see this man make the line-up, then there is something seriously wrong with EA's selection process.

Volland

Over to Germany for our final selection, where Leverkusen picked up a comfortable 4-1 win over Frankfurt. Volland was devastating up top, terrorizing the oppositions defense and picking himself up a hat-trick in the process.

Honorable mentions

As always picking a squad of just 23 players is incredibly difficult, and while someone may believe a certain player is deserving, you can almost guarantee others will disagree. Below is a list of players that just missed out this week, and although they didn’t make our shortlist, I would expect a couple of them to pop up in EA's selections!

Handanovic
Atalanta 0-0 Inter
4 Saves

Alaba
Bayern 5-1 Gladbach
1 Goal

Kompany
Tottenham 1-3 Manchester City
1 Assist

Ceppitelli
Cagliari 2-1 Udinese
1 Goal

Eduardo
Pacos de Ferreira 1-5 Braga
2 Goals

Lopez
Athletic Bilbao 2-3 Deportivo
2 Goals

Selke
Hertha Berlin 2-1 FC Cologne
2 Goals

Traore
Lyon 3-0 Amiens
1 Goal and 1 Assist

Roux
Rennes 1-2 Metz
2 Goals

Rodriguez
Man Utd 0-1 West Brom
1 Goal

Correa
Atletico 3-0 Levante
1 Goal and 1 Assist

Verdi
Bologna 2-0 Verona
1 Goal and 1 Assist