TOTW 36 Predictions

As many top leagues come to an end this could be the last TOTW we see for a while and although it doesn’t offer as much as the previous couple of sides there are still some decent players included. With the likes of Gundogan and Giroud winning their titles, Balotelli scoring five and dynamic upgrades for Correa and James.

Goalkeeper

Diego Lopez – GK - OVR 77>>86
The main goalkeeper was a very tough prediction to make with very little in terms of options and thus I had to take somewhat of a punt. Pope was an option but with Burnley being relegated later in the week I ruled him out. Instead, I have gone the route of Lopez picking up his third IF of the game after the Spaniard made five saves to keep his clean sheet during Espanyol’s 0-0 draw with Granada.

Defenders

Boubacar Kamara – CB - OVR 80>>83
Gerson was the obvious choice from Marseille for his brace during their 4-0 win however with the Brazilian recently featuring in TOTW he is unable to be included. Instead, we look elsewhere with both Rondiger and Kamara featuring in L’equipe’s TOTW with 7’s. Either could get the nod but with Kamara playing at CB and defenders being few and far between I feel that he is the better shout.

Joel Veltman – CB - OVR 77>>81
Defenders were difficult to select this week and we will most likely see a couple of random inclusions from EA. One player likely to receive an IF however is Joel Veltman. The Dutch defender was always amongst the goals in the Eredivisie however it took until the final game of the season to get off the mark for Brighton. Brighton went on to win the match 3-1 against West Ham who in turn bottled the Europa league finish. 

Reece James – RWB - OVR 81>>87
I feel as though Reece James missing out on a TOTS inclusion was one of the harshest decisions of the year. There is a chance that he sneaks into TOTW however. With an assist in both matches alongside being awarded MOTM in both, he looks to be one of the best options amongst a weak defensive selection. Chelsea ended up in a respectable third after recording two wins this weekend and if anyone is getting acknowledged for it, it will be James.

Midfielders

Jack Harrison – LM - OVR 78>>84
It looked as though Leeds was destined for relegation with the scores level at 1-1 late on with Brentford but a 94th minute winner from Jack Harrison accompanied by the fact Newcastle beat Burnley 2-1 resulted in Harrison’s goalkeeping them in the Premier League. Harrison went on to receive MOTM and should pick up his SIF as a result.

Dejan Kulusevski – RW - OVR 81>>84
What an unbelievable piece of business Kulusevski has been for Tottenham. The Swede has made an instant impact since joining the club, providing regular attacking returns. Despite featuring as a TOTS SBC recently I can still see the winger being included in TOTW. That is after he scored twice during Tottenham’s comfortable 5-0 win over Norwich, a win that secured Champions League football for them.

Ilkay Gundogan – CM - OVR 85>>88
Manchester City was in serious trouble during the final game of the season, finding themselves two goals down to Aston Villa which would have meant Liverpool would have stolen the title on the final day. In just six minutes of game time, the match was turned on its head with Gundogan scoring twice while Rodri grabbed the other. Manchester City loves winning the title in dramatic ways.

Angel Di Maria – RW - OVR 87>>90
Although it was Mbappe who once again stood out, scoring three times after the news of the controversial contract decision, with the Ligue 1 TOTS just around the corner I feel that he misses out. PSG did go on to win 5-0 however and with numerous options available for the IF I am going the way of ADM. The Argentine scored once and assisted another to claim an 8/10 from L’equipe. Spoiler alert, this does indeed mean ADM is not in my Ligue 1 TOTS.

Forwards

Andy Delort – ST - OVR 81>>87
For the second consecutive week, I have decided to include Delort in the prediction. Although he was somewhat fringe last week, I still feel that he should have been included. Regardless of that, there is no doubt surrounding him this time with the Algerian scoring three times and receiving a 9/10 from L’equipe as he helped Nice to a 3-2 away win over Reims, securing Conference league qualification as a result.

Oliver Giroud – ST - OVR 79>>84
AC Milan officially lifted the title this weekend after managing to hold off Inter during their tightly contested battle. The final day of the season saw both sides winning 3-0 and it was Giroud who did the damage on the final day, scoring two of those three goals to receive an 8/10 from Gazzetta.

Joaquin Correa – ST - OVR 81>>86
It was too little too late for Inter, who continued to win their games after the well documented Radu mistake which has gone on to officially cost them the title now. They ended their season on a high though, beating Sampdoria 3-0 and with Correa scoring two of those three we could see a late upgrade for his OTW card

Substitutes

Alexander Nubel – GK - OVR 75>>81
Despite conceding twice Nubel still looks nailed on to become the sub keeper in TOTW 36. The German made a total of eight saves to keep the scores level during their 2-2 draw with Lens this weekend. L’equipe awarded Nubel an 8/10 which is the main reason for his inclusion.

Cedric – RB - OVR 76>>81
Despite recording a comfortable 5-1 win over Tottenham this weekend it was not enough for Arsenal to secure Champions League football, thanks to their loss against Newcastle earlier in the week. It was a very strong performance against Everton however, who were likely on a hangover from securing their safety but nonetheless still strong. Cedric has struggled since moving from Southampton but a goal and an assist on Sunday perhaps topped off his strongest performance to date for the Gunners.

Melero – CM - OVR 77>>81
Levante made it back-to-back wins with a 4-2 away win over Vallecano this weekend but it was too little too late with relegation being confirmed for the Spanish outlet. I do still expect them to receive an IF from their performance however and with Melero scoring twice from the centre of the park you would expect it to go the Spaniards way.

De Paul – CM - OVR 82>>84
Atletico Madrid ended their season with a narrow 2-1 away win over Real Sociedad. There is no obvious IF from this match but with De Paul scoring once and claiming MOTM I am willing to take the punt on him, especially as it is the last chance for his OTW card to get upgraded.

Andre-Pierre Gignac – ST - OVR 81>>84
There were a ridiculous number of top end performances from gold strikers this week and it will be inevitable that a few misses out. I have probably included a couple too many but in terms of overall score, it is likely to work out better this way. Gignac gets the nod after scoring three times for Tigre during their 4-2 home win over Atlas. This however was not enough to send them through after losing 3-0 in the first leg.

Mario Balotelli – ST - OVR 76>>84
It’s been a while since the name Balotelli has been hitting the headlines but when it does it's usually something crazy. Luckily for him, it was for the right reasons this time as the Italian went on to score a ridiculous five goals this weekend, helping his side to a 7-0 home win

Youssef El Arabi – ST - OVR 79>>82
El Arabi has been snubbed on numerous occasions this season and thus is still without an IF despite scoring on a regular basis. His latest performance really should be the one to see him included however with it being a Tuesday fixture there is a slight risk associated with it. Despite that, after the Moroccan scored three times for Olympiakos during their 3-2 away win over AEK I would be silly not to include him.

Reserves

Guglielmo Vicario – GK - OVR 71>>78
I doubt this will ever happen again but I am predicting the same silver goalkeeper two weeks on the bounce. Vicario was completely robbed of an IF last week but with a weak reserves section, this time around he is in with a shout once again. In total, the Italian made nine saves to maintain Empoli’s shock 1-0 win over Atalanta.

Valentin Eysseric – CM - OVR 72>>79
With Balotelli being a certainty for this week's side there is a doubt surrounding Eysseric as the Turkish League doesn’t receive many IF’s as a rule of thumb. With multiple leagues out of action, there is a chance for them to pick up two this week though. Eysseric gets the inclusion after scoring twice and assisting another during their 4-2 away win.

Alex Pritchard – CAM - OVR 69>>77
Sunderland played Wycombe on Saturday at Wembley for their play-off final. It was Sunderland who came out on top and as a result will play in the Championship next season. There is no guarantee that EA will reward an IF for this but in the past, they have done. With Pritchard assisting both goals if it does happen, he will be the player which gets included.

Ruben Castro – ST - OVR 69>>81
Will Ruben Castro ever stop scoring? I'm not so sure. The 40-year-old took his tally to 17 for the season with a hat trick on Saturday. Cartagena went on to win the match comfortably with a score line of 5-0 and with this being the veteran’s SIF it means he goes into the gold category and thus is practically guaranteed to feature.

Kasper Junker– ST - OVR 72>>79
I would often ignore a midweek hat trick during a 3-3 draw from midweek fixtures however the competition for the reserves section was significantly weaker than what it has been in the majority of weeks and thus Junker looks a very safe bet. The Danish striker scored all three for Urawa during their 3-3 draw with Yokohama.