TOTW 32 Predictions

Starting Eleven

With PSG flying high atop the table, you would expect them to pick up a comfortable win away to Bordeaux. Now while they picked up the win, it was anything but comfortable and if it wasn’t for Areola making 8 incredible saves, the result could have gone very differently.

Manchester United we’re away to Bournemouth for their midweek league game and ever since their Champions League exit, they are a team on fire. Smalling has been a huge part of this, both defensively and going forward and once again he showed what he is capable of with a goal and clean sheet here.

With the season coming to a close, the Seria A is far from wrapped up. Napoli sat 4 points behind league leaders Juventus, and with the two sides facing off a win here would have seen the gap reduced to a mere point. Napoli made sure this became a reality, a 90th minute winner from Koulibaly was all that could separate the two teams. A clean sheet and such an important goal has to be enough for a second inform, right?

Ronal were on the road for their midweek La Liga game and in an incredibly tight fixture, they just managed to edge a 1-0 victory over their hosts, Espanyol. Lomban was the hero on the night, as not only was he incredible defensively, he also provided the only goal of the game.

Inter Milan were hosts to Cagliari for their Tuesday night fixture and with a dominating display of football, the hosts wrapped up all the points with a 4-0 win. Now while Cancelo at right-back has a shot, with a goal and clean sheet, our nomination goes with Brozovic. A goal, an assist and man of the match could very well be enough for yet another Inform.

With Bayern having already wrapped up the Bundesliga, the remaining fixtures hold little relevance, and with their Champions League fixture around the corner, we can expect to see players rested. These changes however weren’t noticeable on the pitch, as they still sailed to a 3-0 win, with Rudy scoring once and assisting a second.

Now this was a tough one, during Lazio’s 4-0 win over Sampdoria there were several strong candidates for this nomination. Immobile, with 2 goals, De Vrij, with a goal and a clean sheet to his name, however we opted to go with Savic once again. With a goal, an assist and the man of the match award, this man gets our vote once more.

Dortmund were comfortable 4-0 winners over Leverkusen on the weekend, and while Reus may have not been the most impressive on the pitch, he is the man who gets our vote. Sancho secured a near perfect rating, with a goal and two assists, however as he doesn’t feature in FIFA, Reus with two goals (and a missed penalty), could sneak his way into the lineup instead.

Marseille were hosts to Lille for their Ligue 1 fixture on Saturday, and although the game provided 6 goals, only one went in favour of the visitors. Mitriglou up top scored twice, and could easily take this spot, however Thauvin is our nomination with two goals and a fantastic overall performance.

We take a bit of a gamble with this selection, and pick a player who has been impressive across the season, but has failed to have that one incredible match as far as goals scored are concerned. Man City cruised to a 5-0 over Swansea on the weekend, and once again Bernardo Silva was incredible. Now while he only scored the one goal, there is a chance that when we add this to his man of the match performance, that he just makes the cut.

Now this is something that felt near impossible over the past few months. Lacazette has really struggled to maintain the form we see in France, however slowly and steadily he seems to be on his way back. Arsenal picked up a 4-1 win over West Ham on Sunday, and with two goals to his name, we could be seeing his first inform of the year.

Substitutes

This week there were plenty of fantastic goalkeeper performances, and picking just two was incredibly difficult. Benevento were away to AC Milan and in an incredible show of strength, they secured the points with a 1-0 win. Puggioni was incredible in goal, with 6 fantastic saves and amazing control of his back line.

Twente were at home to PEC Zwolle for their match this week and in a solid performance across the board, they picked up a 2-0 win. Now all the attention has to be directed at their defenders, the centre-backs were amazing and both full-backs provided a goal, and although Maria gets our vote, this could easily go to anyone in the back line.

We come across another slightly unusual selection here, not for what Veretout accomplished, but due to the match result. Fiorentina picked up a loss during a 4-3 defeat to Lazio, however his performance simply cannot go unnoticed. Scoring all 3 goals for Fiorentina, he has to be in with a shot, despite his side actually losing the game.

Osmanlispor were on the road to Genclerbirligi for their weekend fixture, and in a game that provided 3 goals, all of them went to the visitors. Regattin was a man in form, scoring twice and terrorising the oppositions defence throughout.

Over to the MLS now where Kansas City were comfortable 6-0 winners against Vancouver. Now there were plenty of standout performances, but Russell was definitely the most impressive. After securing a hat-trick and a perfect match rating, this man simply has to make the cut.

AZ Alkmaar Player hosts to Vitesse mid-week and in a 7 goal thriller, it was the home side who just managed to edge the win. Jahanbakhsh was the hero on the day, not only did he secure himself a hat-trick, but he also provided the assist for the fourth goal. Ignoring him this time would be nothing short of a crime.

Ajax were at home to VVV-Venlo on Thursday and in yet another magnificent performance, they wrapped up the points with a 4-1 win. Neres was simply unstoppable throughout, providing 1 assist, 2 goals and being denied by the woodwork for another.

Back across to America now, where we find yet another high scoring fixture. Montreal lost 3-5 at home to LAFC, and with the way the visitors played, it comes as no surprise. Piatti was simply unstoppable, scoring twice from open play and once from the spot to secure his hat-trick.

Hoffenheim and Leipzig went head to head for their Bundesliga clash on the weekend and in a game that provided 7 goals, it was the visitors who left with all the points. The match ended 5-2 and Uth not only secured a near perfect Match rating, but also hammered home twice and provided an assists on another.

Over to the lower English divisions now, where Southend played hosts to MK Dons. It was pure domination from start to finish, with the hosts picking up a comfortable 4-0 win in the end. Robinson was the man of the match, scoring not once, not twice, but three times to secure his hat-trick.

After two assists mid-week, people were already speculating about the possibility of an Inform for this man, but after CSKA’s 2-1 win on the weekend, surely that debate is wrapped up. Musa added to those assists with two goals on Saturday, which will surely secure his space in this week’s team.

Getafe were away to Valencia for their La Liga clash this week, and in an incredibly tight match, they just managed to secure the points with a 2-1 victory. Remy was the star on the night, scoring both their goals and giving himself a real chance at an Inform this week.

Honorable mentions

Martinez GK
Deportivo 0-0 Sevilla
Clean Sheet & 6 Saves

Soria GK
Deportivo 0-0 Sevilla
Clean Sheet & 7 Saves

Arrizabalaga GK
Real Madrid 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
10 Saves

Vural GK
Trabzonspor 0-2 Sivasspor
Clean Sheet & 8 Saves

Coady CB
Bolton 0-4 Wolves
1 Goal & 1 Assist & Clean Sheet

Lely RB
Twente 2-0 PEC Zwolle
1 Goal & Clean Sheet

Rojas RW
SC Heerenveen 2-0 ADO Den Haag
2 Goals

Freuler CM
Benevento 0-3 Atalanta
1 Goal & 1 Assist

Sandro LB
Crotone 1-1 Juventus
1 Goal

Luis Alberto CF
Fiorentina 3-4 Lazio
2 Goals & 1 Assist

Lemos CB
Verona 0-1 Sassuolo
1 Goal & Clean Sheet

Albiol CB
Napoli 4-2 Udinese
1 Goal

Vente ST
Willem II 1-5 Feyenoord
2 Goals & 1 Assist

Chalov RW
CSKA Moscow 3-0 Amkar
2 Goals

Wesley
Club Bruges 6-0 Sporting Charleroi
2 Goals

Nainggolan CAM
SPAL 0-3 Roma
1 Goal

Tiba CM
Chaves 2-1 Portimonense
2 Goals

Quioto LW
Houston 5-1 Toronto
1 Goal & 2 Assists

Moreno RW
Girona 0-2 Espanyol
2 Goals

Mitroglou ST
Marseille 5-1 Lille
2 Goals

Grabban ST
Ipswich 0-4 Aston Villa
2 Goals

Haddadi ST
Las Palmas 0-4 Alaves
2 Goals

De Vrij CB
Lazio 4-0 Sampdoria
1 Goal & Clean Sheet

Beric ST
Saint-Etienne 2-1 Troyes
2 Goals