TOTW 25 Predictions

Last week was always going to be a tough act to follow in terms of team quality but with a couple of live item upgrades and several high rated players its not looking to be a bad side whatsoever. Another 17 correctly predicted last week, can we beat it this time?
 

 

Goalkeeper

Kasper Schmeichel – GK - OVR 85>>87
This was arguably the hardest position to fill with most of the top division keepers not doing a lot at all. Schmeichel is the best of a bad bunch having made four saves to deny Leeds from scoring during a 1-0 win over the recently Bielsaless Leeds. Sky named the Danish keeper MOTM with an 8/10 and although there is a lot of Premier League options it’s hard to look elsewhere

 

Defenders

Reece James – RWB - OVR 81>>86
There were several options from Chelsea’s 4-0 away win over Burnley with Havertz scoring twice and Pulisic scoring once and assisting another. Both of those are likely to miss out though with Reece James being a clear favourite for me. Not only was the defender named MOTM for his goal, assist and clean sheet but the English defender also has a headliner card to his name, giving EA additional incentive to include him in TOTW 25.

David Raum – LWB - OVR 73>>84
Raum has been fantastic this season for Hoffenheim and often features in Kicker’s TOTW and this week was no different. Despite his defensive partner scoring the only goal of the game, it was Raum who was named MOTM. With a severe lack of options from the Bundesliga Raum should sneak his way into the side, as realistically EA will include a couple of Bundesliga options at least.

Zeki Celik – RB - OVR 79>>84
Although Celik actually failed to make L’equipe’s TOTW I still feel as though the Turkish defender will end up making the side. That is after he was involved in two Lille goals alongside keeping a clean sheet. Sanchez also stands a chance with two assists but with both excluded from L’equipes side it’s only Celik which I can personally justify

 

Midfielders

Bukayo Saka – RM - OVR 80>>87
Despite playing up to three games less than the sides around them Arsenal are now up to 4th in the Premier League table, showcasing just how far they have come as a side. A hard fought 3-2 win over Watford is what they achieved on Sunday with Saka claiming MOTM with an impressive 9/10 after scoring once and assisting another.

Mikel Merino – CM - OVR 83>>85
You always have to be somewhat careful when it comes to midweek fixture inclusions but usually, when it comes to the big five leagues you can count on EA to include them. If that is the case Merino is practically nailed on after a superb performance from CDM to help Sociedad to a 2-0 away with over Mallorca. The Spaniard scored once and assisted another while also being unlucky not to add to his tally even more.

Kevin De Bruyne – CM - OVR 91>93
Although KDB recently featured as a silver option in FIFA with that being an entirely different type of card to the potential SIF, I can see EA still including him on Wednesday. Manchester City was always expected to win against United with the gap between the two sides being the most it has been in recent years and the dominance was clear to see with City running away with a 4-1 win. KDB and Mahrez are the two obvious options but it’s the Belgian who really made things tick and thus should be the player awarded an IF.

Luka Modric – CM - OVR 87>>88
There were several La Liga central midfielders to choose from this week but the eventual decision to narrow them down was difficult. I feel that Merino is the best option but then the choice between both Modric and Soler is a coin flip. In the end I opted for Modric’s goal and assist simply down to the fact it is another big name to add to the side. Thanks to a Sevilla draw Madrid ae now eight points clear at the top and look uncatchable as a result.

 

Forwards

Ivan Toney – ST - OVR 76>>86
After breaking the most goals in a Championship season during the 2020/21 campaign many were excited to see what Toney could do in the Premiership. It’s safe to say that he has been somewhat underwhelming with just six goals to his name from 22 matches. That tally was made more respectable this weekend though with the Englishman scoring three times, two of which were from the spot, during Brentford’s 3-1 away win over Norwich. It looks as though the Canaries are all but relegated now, as is usually the case.

Lautaro Martinez – ST - OVR 85>>87
At one stage it looked as though the hyped headliner Barella would be receiving an upgrade with two early assists to his name and with Gazzetta awarding him an 8/10 for exactly that in a normal situation he would have been included. There is only one choice from Inter though and that is not the Italian. Instead, we look towards Martinez who managed to score three times during the 5-0 win over Salernitana and claimed MOTM with an 8.5 for doing so.

Iago Aspas – ST - OVR 84>>88
Aspas regularly puts in strong performances without scoring goals, which is why he often gets in with one goal and one assist. This time you can’t really argue against his inclusion though after the Spaniard scored twice and assisted another during Celta Vigo’s seven goal thriller of which they came out as 4-3 winners against Mallorca. When it finally gets around to TOTS it’s safe to say that Aspas is going to be dangerously good.

 

Substitutes

Marco Bizot – GK - OVR 77>>84
With only a handful of goalkeeper selections available it usually comes down to ratings in the top five divisions. Once again, we look to Ligue 1 and their keeper of the week, which on this occasion is Bizot. The Dutch stopper made a total of five saves to deny Lens which allowed Brest to come away with all three points via a 1-0 win.

Leandro Cabera – CB - OVR 77>>81
Last week saw a ridiculous number of defenders miss out due to it being much more highly contested than we have seen in a long time. Back to reality now and a defender with a goal and a clean sheet in a top 5 division is always likely to feature. That is exactly what Cabera managed as Espanyol beat Getafe 2-0.

Romain Faivre – RM - OVR 75>>84
Onto an easy selection now with Faivre. Lyon recorded a comfortable 4-1 away win over the struggling Lorient on Friday evening, as they look to back a late push towards the European places. Both Faivre and Dembele received an 8/10 from L’equipe but with the former scoring twice from RM there is only really one option here.

Andreas Skov Olsen – RW - OVR 72>>82
This is the first time we have seen this situation this year but I will be going from the Romero case in 21 from which a silver star which came as a result of a performance will then count as a normal IF situation. Under this logic Skov Olsen becomes a gold option and if that is the case he will almost certainly be included after scoring twice and assisting another from RM during a 5-0 away win for Club Brugge.

Evanilson – ST - OVR 73>>82
Porto are now a remarkable 53 domestic league games undefeated after their 4-2 away win over Pacos. There were a couple of IF candidates from the match but it is Evanilson’s two goals and one assist that really stands out for me. Abola awarded both Evanilson and Taremi an 8/10 and if the Brazilian had not already received an IF to make him gold the decision probably would have gone the other way.

Simon Terodde – ST - OVR 75>>81
It is rare to see a player from the losing side then go on to make TOTW however it does happen and most the time it is from a player scoring a hat trick. That is again the case here with Schalke losing 4-3 despite Terodde scoring three times. Kicker went on to award Terodde player of the week despite the loss and I feel that EA will also then award him an IF.

Danny Ings – ST - OVR 81>>84
It was once again the Coutinho show with the Brazilian setting the league alight since re-joining the Premiership. However, with Coutinho featuring in TOTW 22 it is likely too soon for him the receive another IF and thus we look elsewhere. With Villa recording a 4-0 home win over Southampton, there were plenty of options and with Ings owning an OTW card his goal and two assists make him a very strong shout

 

Reserves

Tom Lees – CB - OVR 69>>77
Peterborough has become a yo-yo side between the Championship and League 1 in recent seasons and the trend is practically guaranteed to continue with Posh currently sitting rock bottom of the Championship. Their latest loss came against Huddersfield with the terriers recording three goals without reply. Tom Lees scored two of those three from CB and thus looks set to feature on Wednesday.

Lewis Morgan – LM - OVR 72>>79
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t go close to including a second MLS player but with the division being in the limelight currently with EA promoting it as their latest squad foundation I feel that a couple of extra additions could easily happen. Morgan was a standout performance this week regardless, scoring three times from LM during NYRB’s 4-1 away win over Toronto.

Gabriel Debeljuh – ST - OVR 68>>77
Onto the hat tricks now and we have three, two of which are from rather random divisions. The Romanian division was a newly added league for FIFA 22 and has not received much love at all in terms of IF’s but another could be just around the corner after Debeljuh came off the bench for Cluj and scored three times to help them towards a 4-1 win.

Airam Lopez Cabrera – ST - OVR 61>>71
I am still to rightly predict an Indian Super League player for TOTW with those that have been selected is rather random. I have another punt this week however with Cabrera scoring three during an enthralling 4-4 draw.

Fernando Aristeguieta – ST - OVR 72>>79
Puebla remains undefeated at the top of Liga MX after nine games, recording their sixth win of the season via a 3-1 away win over Cruz Azul. Aristeguieta scored all three of their goals making him an easy inclusion this week.