TOTW 35 Predictions

With domestic leagues coming to an end this week it is likely to be the last decent side we will see for a while in terms of TOTW and what a send off we have got. With potential RB cards for both Aguero and Lewandowski alongside IF’s for Modric, Mane and Pepe it looks to be the best side we have seen for quite some time.
 

Goalkeeper

Emiliano Martinez – GK - OVR 78>>86
One of the harshest decisions in TOTS this year was the entire exclusion of Martinez. The Argentine has been amazing since making the move from Arsenal to Villa and has practically improved their defence on his own, making save after save to help keep clean sheets on a regular basis. Although he failed to keep a clean sheet this time around, his six saves ensured Aston Villa walked away with a win on their final match of the season, beating Chelsea 2-1.

Defenders

Dan Burn – CB - OVR 75>>81
Although it was somewhat of a dead match with both Brighton and Manchester City having nothing to play for there is still somewhat of an impressive factor about coming away with three points against the champions and thus, I can see Brighton being awarded an IF on Wednesday. Who that will be is unclear however Burn stands a good chance after scoring the eventual winner during the 3-2 win

Antonio Rudiger – CB - OVR 80>>83
Defensive options were few and far between this week so although Chelsea recorded a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday, I am still happy to look back at their 2-1 win over Leicester during the midweek set of fixtures. Rudiger scored one of those two goals in what was a crucial result in the race for top four.

Guillermo Maripán– CB - OVR 75>>84
Continuing on the theme of struggling for defensive options we move onto Maripan. Monaco drew 0-0 with Lens this weekend but it was Maripan’s 7/10 which stood out for me. We have seen time and time again gold defenders with 7’s being selected in the following TOTW so when we are struggling for options it only makes sense to then include what historically has paid off.

Midfielders

Sadio Mane – LW - OVR 90>>92
It’s been a tough year for Mane, who has openly admitted that it has been the worst season of his career so far. I am sure that the Senegalese international will bounce back strong though and his performance on Sunday showed what he is capable of, scoring both Liverpool’s goals as they miraculously managed to finish the season in third. Which when you consider that it looked like European football altogether was in doubt for them is really quite impressive. Either way Mane will definitely be in TOTW 35.

Luka Modric – CM - OVR 87>>88
Real Madrid made a real push for the title, but it was not to be with Atletico holding firm. Recent weeks have seen Modric performing back at his best and this week was another example of that, once again the Croatian picked up MOTM for his goal performance as Madrid came from a goal behind to win 2-1 against Villarreal.

Angel Correa – RM - OVR 82>>84
The first of two obvious hero selections will go the way of Atletico Madrid after a 2-1 win over Valladolid, from behind, resulted in them lifting the La Liga title, holding off both Real Madrid and Barcelona this past month. Both Correa and Suarez scored the goals while both have also received a recent TOTS item. With that being a few weeks ago I see no reason why under the circumstances that one of the two will receive a hero card and I feel that the Argentine is the more likely to do so.

Nicolas Pepe – RM - OVR 82>>87
Arsenal played two games which are considered towards this week’s side and Pepe could easily get in for either of them. The Ivorian scored twice in both a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace and also during a 2-0 win over Brighton, as Arsenal finished their season on impressive form. The Pepe that fans originally hoped for has seemingly finally appeared and should he take this form into the 2021/22 season I feel that he will be a player that needs to be taken seriously going forward.

Forwards

Sergio Aguero – ST - OVR 89>>90
We have already seen an end of an era Aguero SBC but with that being over a month ago now I feel as though he could still find himself in TOTW 35. Aguero was subbed on in the second half of City’s final fixture and in perfect Aguero fashion he managed to score twice, completing a 5-0 romp over Everton. It’s going to be a shame not seeing the Argentine in the Premier League but as I am sure we can all agree he will go down as one of the greatest strikers we have seen in the division. Proven by the fact he now holds the record for the most Premier League goals at a single club, with 260 to his name.

Alvaro Morata – ST - OVR 82>>88
It almost looked certain that Juventus would fail to make the Champions League spots in Serie A this season but a 4-1 win over Bologna during the final fixture of the season alongside a Napoli draw resulted in them jumping up into 4th position and thus claiming the final qualification spot. Morata scored two of their four goals and under the circumstances could even receive a hero item.

Robert Lewandowski – ST - OVR 91>>95
In general, I have been avoiding players of whom have picked up a TOTS item as EA have not been selecting them either before or after their inclusion in recent weeks but considering this would go down as a record breaking card Lewandowski must make it for me. Lewandowski was largely frustrated throughout the game, struggling to get his goal which would break the goalscoring record for a single season in the Bundesliga but, finally in the 90th minute of the match the Polish striker managed to score and thus breaking the 49-year-old record with his 41st goal of the season, remarkable!

Substitutes

Jasper Cillessen – GK - OVR 81>>84
I seriously struggled for one keeper this week let alone two but the only two realistic options I could find have been included in this week’s prediction. The second is Cillessen of whom although did not receive the best match ratings did make a total of eight saves in order to keep his clean sheet during a 0-0 draw with Huesca. When struggling for options eight saves really does stand out.

Sebastiaan Bornauw – CB - OVR 75>>81
In truth it was a master class from Schalke’s goalkeeper, Fahrmann but with Koln going on to win the match 1-0 thanks to a Bournauw goal it means Fahrmann is practically illegible. That being said with Bornauw scoring the only goal of the game from CB he does look set to be an obvious selection this week.

Pablo Fornals – LM - OVR 79>>82
West Ham managed to secure European football this week with two convincing results to conclude their campaign, the first being a 3-1 win over West Brom before then winning 3-0 against Southampton. Fornals gets his TOTW nomination for being involved in all three goals during the win over the Saints, scoring twice and assisting the other.

Lucas Zelarayan – CAM - OVR 76>>84
The MLS is going to play a big role in TOTW’s after the upcoming side and I would expect EA to start sneaking them in now to start the hype around the division. We saw Higuain last week and this time around I can see Zelarayan making the cut. The Argentine scored both Colombus Crew goals as they recorded a 2-1 win over NYCFC.

Lars Stindl – LF - OVR 80>>85
Some places are saying that Sindl played a ST role but with Kicker listing him as a LF/LW I fully expect that to be where he is selected. The German managed to score once and assist another two as Gladbach recorded a 4-2 win over Werder Bremen. I don’t have Kicker ratings due to a Bank Holiday, but I would still expect Stindl to be nailed on.

Jonathon David – ST - OVR 77>>84
The Ligue 1 title race has been neck and neck between both PSG and Lille for a couple of months now and it went all the way down to the final game of the season. Lille managed to hold on and record a 2-1 win over Angers, which means they managed to lift the 2020/21 title and a hero card is inevitably on the way as a result. David is seemingly the best option after scoring one of the two goals while also being awarded MOTM.

Mergam Berisha – ST - OVR 69>>81
If Berisha had not already have picked up an IF this year, there is a good chance that the German would have missed out on TOTW but with him now classifying as a gold option he is practically a certainty. Salzburg dominated their fixture this weekend, which is often the case, winning 4-0 at home to Tirol. Berisha scored three of those four goals making him look very likely to receive his SIF on Wednesday.

Reserves

Kristoffer Zachariassen – CM - OVR 70>>78
The first of three midfielders I have in the reserves, all of whom managed to score three times is Zachariassen. The Rosenborg CM was crucial during a hard fought 3-2 win over Brann with all three goals to his name including a 91st minute winner to put Rosenborg at the top of the table, for the meantime anyway.

Lim Sang Hyub – RM - OVR 63>>73
Pohang played out a seven-goal thriller away at Suwon on Tuesday, from which they managed to come away with a 4-3 win from. Lim San Hyub scored three of those four goals and as a result should be finding himself included in the upcoming TOTW. There were a lot of players which could make it into the reserves this week with leagues ending but Hyub should easily take one of the spots.

Kristian Thorstvedt – CAM - OVR 67>>76
Next up is another hat trick from midfield, while the strikers can probably be ignored for hero items, I simply can’t leave out the midfielders with three to their name as I feel its that much more impressive. Genk managed a 4-0 home win over Antwerp as they make a real challenge for the title, with Thorstvedt scoring the first three of their goals.

Sonny Kittel – LM - OVR 73>>82
Although Hamburg will be disappointed at failing to gain a chance at promotion this season in terms of individual performances Kittel is still right up there this week after his two goals in Hamburg’s 4-0 win over Braunschweig. Although perhaps unlikely to feature in the reserves section I have found it hard for a fifth option for the reserves and thus I decided to play the numbers game.

Lucas Boye – ST - OVR 69>>77
Elche looked destined for relegation for large parts of the current campaign but a 2-0 win over Bilbao was enough to lift them out of the relegation and to safety on the final day of the season. In the past this sort of thing has resulted in a hero item being awarded and with Boye managing a goal and an assist he is seemingly a sensible choice.