TOTW 24 Predictions

With not much competition in recent months, we finally have a TOTW to get excited for again. With several high rated options and a few meta players included, not to mention three potential upgrades for headliner cards!
 

 

Goalkeeper

Koen Casteels – GK - OVR 86>>87
It’s rare to see a goalkeeper included after conceding more than once but after Kicker awarded Casteels a 1.5 match rating he becomes difficult to ignore. The Belgian made a total of eight saves to ensure Wolfsburg came away with something and without him, Gladbach would have likely run away with the match.

 

Defenders

Ben Mee – CB - OVR 79>>82
All three Premier League midweek fixtures look set to achieve an IF, the first of which is Burnley’s Ben Mee. Burnley shocked Tottenham, managing to come away with all three points after a Mee header saw them win 1-0. The result takes them just two points away from safety now and with a game in hand it's in their control still.

Gabriel Paulista – CB - OVR 82>>84
Onto a straight forward decision now, with Paulista, the Brazilian scored the only goal of the game as Valencia recorded a 1-0 away win over Mallorca. Paulista went on to be awarded MOTM and as a result, should cruise into TOTW 24. 

Renan Lodi – LWB - OVR 81>>84
There is an argument to be made over the position of Lodi with both LWB and LM being viable but with both wingbacks being defenders on paper I would lean towards the LWB role. Regardless of what EA decides to classify the position as I fully expect Lodi to feature though. The Brazilian scored both Atletico goals during their 2-0 home win over Celta Vigo

 

Midfielders

Wilfried Zaha – LW - OVR 82>>84
Although not close to the level of his Winter Wildcard there is now a chance for an upgraded Zaha for those who missed out on the SBC. Palace was tight with Watford right up until the closing stages of the game where Zaha scored in both the 85th and 90th minutes to ensure all three points went home with Palace, winning 4-1 in the end.

Ousmane Dembele – LW - OVR 83>>85
Having now won four of their last five La Liga matches Barcelona looks to be getting back to their best, with some convincing wins too. Their latest came via a 4-0 over 8th placed Bilbao and Xavi’s side are showing no signs of slowing down. Dembele looks set to receive his first IF of the year after coming off the bench to score once and assist another two.

Lorenzo Insigne – LW - OVR 86>>87
Although it’s unlikely that we will see a midfield consisting entirely of wide players it was difficult to include any central options, especially with the number of wingers performing so well. Another was Insigne who scored once and assisted another during Napoli’s 2-1 win over Lazio. With it being a high profile match I feel that someone will be included and Insigne is the only real option.

Mohamed Salah – RW - OVR 89>>93
With Liverpool recording a 6-0 home win over Leeds there was a plethora of options available for selection, defenders with attacking contributions and offensive options with multiple. The front runner looks to be Salah though with the Egyptian being named MOTM for scoring twice and assisting another in the first half. Liverpool is just three points off leaders Manchester City now and although I still expect City to hold out in should be a fun face to the finish now.

 

Forwards

Giovanni Simeone – ST - OVR 75>>86
Simeone has been relatively quiet recently having stormed out of the blocks early on in the Serie A season but he was back at his best on Sunday. Verona recorded a 3-1 home win over Venezia with the Argentine scoring all three of their goals. As a result, he is set for his third IF of the season and an upgrade comes for his headliner card too.

Dusan Vlahovic – ST - OVR 78>>86
Vlahovic has become a familiar face within FIFA promo’s this year with the Serbian achieving four special cards to date. His fifth looks set to be just around the corner after scoring twice for Juventus during their 3-2 away win over Empoli. Gazzetta awarded the performance an 8/10 making him one of the top performances this week.

Kylian Mbappe – ST - OVR 91>>93
It has been a while since we have seen one of the elite players receive an IF but TOTW 24 looks set to change that with Mbappe set to receive an IF after his two goals and one assist against St Etienne which saw L’equipe award him a 9/10 match rating. With a headliner for Mbappe this season too it makes it even more meta

 

Substitutes

Walter Benitez – GK - OVR 80>>85
Although it will take quite some time to see another performance quite like Lafont's in Ligue 1 it was still an impressive performance from Benitez this weekend. The Nice stopper made a total of six saves to keep his clean sheet as 10-man Nice went on to pick up a point via a 0-0 draw against Strasbourg.

Matt Doherty – RWB - OVR 78>>82
Doherty has not had much of a look in since making the move to Tottenham but it has always been common knowledge that offensively he can offer a lot. With multiple new faces in the Spurs squad, he was given a chance this weekend, traveling away to Leeds. It was a chance he took well, scoring once and assisting another during the convincing 4-0 away win. 

Patrick Van Aanholt – LB - OVR 76>>81
There were a crazy number of defensive options this weekend and we are likely going to see one or two miss out despite deserving a spot in the side. PVA is a familiar name due to his attacking presence in the PL over the years. Now playing his football in Turkey he is continuing to do what he does best. The Dutchman scored twice this weekend for Galatasaray as they recorded a 4-2 home win.

Martin Terrier – LM - OVR 77>>84
There were two obvious selections from Ligue 1 this weekend but outside of those two, there was very little else on offer. Terrier featured in their TOTW with an 8/10 despite only scoring once from LM. Traore assisted twice in the same game from RB however with only a 7 from L’equipe and a highly competitive defensive section I feel that Terrier could sneak his way in.

Christoph Baumgartner – CM - OVR 78>>84
There were limited options that stood out for the featured player this week but with good all round base stats I feel that Baumgartner is not a bad shout for it. The Austrian will definitely feature after scoring both Hoffenheim goals during their 2-1 win over Stuttgart. A performance which Kicker awarded a 2 and MOTM for.

Carlos Vela – ST- OVR 83>>85
The MLS made a return to action the weekend and a familiar face started where he left off. Since moving to the states Vela has become a crucial figure of the Los Angeles side. Vela scored all three of their goals on Saturday as they kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 home win over Colorado.

Abderrazak Hamdallah – ST - OVR 77>>81
You only have to look at Hamdallah’s goalscoring record to see how dangerous he is. Regularly scoring more goals than games played in competitions he is best known for his 2018/19 season from which he managed 34 goals in just 26 domestic league fixtures. A hat trick this weekend took his tally to 11 in 12 as he looks to continue his goalscoring dominance in the Saudi league, which currently stands at 85 in 80.

 

Reserves

Dominik Oroz – CB - OVR 60>>70
With the current silver promotion in place, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few silvers creep into TOTW 24. Although Oroz is an easy selection, he is not the best in terms of usability. Either way, we should see him included after scoring twice from CB during Vitesse’s 4-1 home win over NEC.

Yeremi Pino – RM - OVR 73>>79
The young Spaniard has featured largely as a substitute for Villarreal this season, which at 19 to feature on a regular basis is not a bad thing. Pino showed exactly what he is capable of this weekend though, scoring an impressive four times for the hosts as they recorded a 5-1 home win over Espanyol on Sunday.

Marvin Ducksch – ST - OVR 73>>79
A top of the table clash between Werder Bremen and Hamburg did not disappoint with a five-goal thriller ensuing. Werder Bremen was the side to come out on top with a 3-2 win. Ducksch scored two of those goals and as a result, claimed POTW. Ducksch has been snubbed on numerous occasions previous to this and is far from a certainty yet again but I had to make one punt in the reserves and Ducksch made sense.

Mirko Maric – ST - OVR 70>>78
I had originally held off including Maric simply because the match ended in a 3-3 draw but unlike many other weeks recently the competition within the reserves section was few and far between. As a result of that, I simply cannot ignore a hat trick and thus Maric walks into the side.

Nicklas Helenius – ST - OVR 66>>75
Ending the prediction the same way we usually do, Helenius bagged himself a hat trick to lead Silkeborg to a 4-1 away win over Aab. Silkeborg has been a really difficult side to beat this season having lost just two times in their 19 domestic games but finishing off sides has also been an issue for them. A convincing win will be something they will hope to thrive on in the coming weeks.