TOTW 5 Predictions

TOTW 5 was never going to be as strong as the previous week but there are still some names to get excited for. Especially in the attack with Haaland, Lewandowski and Firmino all looking likely alongside another potential upgrade for Felipe Anderson!
 

Goalkeeper

Edouard Mendy – GK - OVR 83>>85
Chilwell's resurgence since returning to the Chelsea starting line-up was ever present, scoring the only goal of the game as Chelsea recorded a 1-0 away win over Brentford. The home side was actually very unlucky not to win the match let alone come away with nothing. Mendy was nothing short of phenomenal between the sticks, making a total of seven saves, some of which were unbelievable in order to keep his clean sheet. So, despite Chilwell looking a strong candidate on paper, I would be very surprised if it is not Mendy who ends up claiming the IF on Wednesday.

Defenders

Mattia De Sciglio – LB - OVR 76>>81
Many will be expected to see Szczesny featuring this week after his penalty save for Juventus on Sunday evening and although there is a possibility it is rare to see EA include two big keepers in one week and thus with the Polish stopper only getting a 7-match rating I have opted for another route. Defenders were few and far between this week and thus seeing Sciglio also pick up a 7/10 for his performance in the old lady’s 1-0 win over Roma I feel like EA could go a similar route.

Angelo Ogbonna – CB - OVR 80>>83
There was a time in which an Ogbonna IF would have been greatly welcomed but now a few years down the line and a significant reduction in the pace statistics he becomes a discard IF. The Italian gets the IF prediction for scoring the only goal of the game for West Ham during their 1-0 win over Everton. The Hammers look to be a very strong side this year and should be competing for Europe once again.

Damian Suarez – RB - OVR 78>>82
La Liga was close to impossible to predict for this week but the division will pick up at least one IF and probably two. I have to take at least one punt as a result and one of the better options appears to be Getafe’s RB, Suarez. The Uruguayan was named MOTM for his performance in the bore draw with his ten tackles playing an important role in the clean sheet.

Midfielders

Jesper Karlsson – LW - OVR 75>>81
It was a difficult call in the Eredivisie this week with numerous top end performances occurring from the left side alone. Gakpo, Tadic and Karlsson are all in with a shout but going from previous weeks EA has simply included the POTW and ignored the other options. Karlsson was awarded that feat after his goal and two assists helped AZ towards a 5-1 home win over Utrecht.

Matteo Guendouzi – CM - OVR 77>>84
Guendouzi has always been a talented player but his mindset can often be questioned. Seemingly the Frenchman has settled down well for Marseille and has been putting in some strong performances for them. This was by far his best though, playing in a more offensive CM role he repaid their faith by scoring twice and assisting another. What's more, is he could easily be the featured TOTW player making him a very useful card for FIFA.

Youri Tielemans – CM - OVR 84>>86
With United's unbeaten record away from homecoming to an end, I would expect to see a Leicester IF as a result. Especially when you consider the scoreline of 4-2. Tieleman was named MOTM with an 8/10 and although he only scored one goal it was an impressive strike and we are not exactly overwhelmed with options this week. I expect the goal to be enough for the Belgian to be awarded his first IF of the season.

Felipe Anderson – RW - OVR 78>>86
This could be slightly too soon for a SIF but I think it’s a good chance for EA to show off how good their new featured IF system can be with Anderson being awarded the new feature in TOTW 2. Three weeks down the line we could then be looking at one of the best RW’s in the game for the early part anyway. Lazio recorded an impressive 3-1 win over Inter Milan this weekend which was perhaps overshadowed by some silly antics at the end but nonetheless, this was still a very strong result. Anderson was awarded MOTM with a 7.5 and with a lack of wingers being present for selection I feel that he could sneak in.

Forwards

Roberto Firmino – ST - OVR 85>>86
The number of goals that Firmino scores has always been a strong topic of conversation with his numbers on paper not always justifying his place in a strong Liverpool attack. Those who know him well understand his role in the side however and thus his rotation with Jota this season so far is perhaps a tad harsh. The Brazilian made a huge statement this weekend though, scoring three of Liverpool's five goals during their convincing 5-0 win over Watford. I would expect this performance to result in the Salah, Firmino and Mane partnership to be the one selected most often going forward.

Erling Haaland – ST - OVR 88>>89
With the majority of the side being poor this week I think that then improves Haaland's chances of making the cut despite EA seemingly being reluctant to award the goal scoring machine his first IF. The Norwegian now has 70 Dortmund goals in 68 games and let's not forget he is still in his early playing days. His latest brace came as Dortmund recorded a 3-1 win over Mainz.

Robert Lewandowski – ST - OVR 92>>93
Munich looked seriously impressive this weekend and looked as though they were going to reach double figures at one point during their match with Leverkusen, finding themselves five goals up after just 37 minutes which included a run of four goals in seven minutes! There are four players which could realistically pick up the IF but with Lewandowski claiming both POTW and MOTM it's likely to be the Polish striker who ends up making the side.

Substitutes

Marco Silvestri – GK - OVR 79>>82
Over the years predicting Serie A keepers have been nothing short of a nightmare but Silvestri really does stand out and thus although I often avoid the decisions I couldn’t here. Udinese went down to ten men in just the 38th minute. Silvestri did end up conceding but with the game ending in a draw, his performance should still be noticed. The Italian made a total of ten saves to keep Udinese in the match and was awarded MOTM for his performance with a 7.5 match rating.

Pedro Santos – RM - OVR 75>>81
Although it is unlikely that TOTW will feature only three gold defenders I struggled to select three so playing the numbers game I felt like predicting an extra midfielder would help me in the long run. Santos managed a goal and two assists from RM during Columbus Crew’s 4-0 win over Inter Miami.

Anastasios Bakasetas – CM - OVR 77>>81
Bakasetas was close to making my prediction during the international week but narrowly missed out. This time around I couldn’t ignore the IF midfielder though after he scored twice for Trabzonspor during their impressive 3-1 win over Fenerbahçe. 

Teji Savanier – CM - OVR 80>>83
Over the years Savanier has had some pretty impressive FIFA cards, this is not one of them but does lead him on the way to reaching another. Although on paper Savanier has just the one assist, his eight received from L’equipe, as a result, makes him one of the best options in the division and EA likes to include at least a couple from each of the big five leagues making it probable that Savanier makes the cut.

Mateus Tete – RM - OVR 76>>81
There was a time of which EA didn’t like including players that came off the bench for some reason but with more and more now making the cut, I am comfortable predicting Tete to make TOTW as a result. Shakthar recorded a convincing 6-1 win this weekend with both Tete and Fernando managing two goals and an assist but with the former playing further back and also being a gold option I feel as though it will be him that makes the cut. He could potentially be a strong-featured card shout but with the division, he plays in I doubt EA will want to go that route.

Josip Ilicic – ST - OVR 84>>86
There are a few risks associated with the Ilicic inclusion this week, mainly the fact that he also missed a penalty to secure the hat trick but with two goals and a 7.5 match rating he is still a strong candidate for TOTW. Pasalic also picked up a 7.5 with two assists from midfield but with their being significantly more midfield options than forwards this week I opted for the Slovenian. There are also a lot of high rated strikers however which also could work against Ilicic.

Joao Pedro – ST - OVR 80>>83
Both Cagliari and Sampdoria have struggled for points this season and thus it was a match which both sides would have viewed as an important one. It was Cagliari who came out on top, winning 3-1 and taking their point total to six in the process. Pedro was named MOTM after scoring two of those three goals.

Reserves

Herve Koffi – GK - OVR 73>>79
Although the likelihood is that EA will opt to include just one Pro League player there were several options I had to choose from and thus I have included two. The first is Koffi who was unreal between the sticks for Charleroi this weekend during their 2-0 win over Genk. In total, he made eight saves, one of which was a penalty and came away with multiple plaudits as a result.

Oscar Wendt – LB - OVR 72>>79
You probably recognize the name Wendt from his Bundesliga days but now approaching the end of his career he has decided to finish in his home country of Sweden, for Goteborg. They recorded a 2-0 win over Orebro on Sunday of which the LB scored both goals. Although he will be a useless IF he definitely deserves a spot this week.

Kaoru Mitoma – RM - OVR 73>>79
With Gilloise finding themselves two goals down at halftime they needed to find something in order to salvage the game. They decided to bring Mitoma on during the break and it was a decision that worked dividends for them. The Japanese midfielder found the back of the net three times to help them turn the game around in an impressive fashion, winning the match 4-2.

Alioune Ndour – RW - OVR 58>>68
We have been quite fortunate with the bronze to silver selection so far this year with some very obvious candidates appearing each week. Ndour is another after he helped Haugesund towards a 7-0 demolition, scoring three goals from the RW position and went on to be named MOTM with an 8/10.

Carlitos – ST - OVR 72>>79
We end the prediction with what could actually be a fun Silver Star but considering the division Carlitos plays in I would expect the normal IF option to be more likely. One way or another I would expect Carlitos to pick up a special item on Wednesday after the Spaniard scored three goals for Panathinaikos during their 4-1 home win over Ionikas.