The first Wednesday of the EA football game year is nearly upon us and with it will come our very first TOTW! Will they grace your welcome back packs? Probably not but even still let's see who we'll be yearning after!
The first TOTW predicition is always a tricky one. Especially now we have 5 more leagues to take into account with our first female In Forms. We also don't know exactly what the upgrade path will be this year either, with the change to IF's announced in the patch notes last week, we know all IF's will be at least 80 rated but it's all guess work after that. It looks like the first week could contain some beasts however. And with TOTW 1 items being some of the safest investments in the game, getting your hands on them could be very difficult!
Starting XI
GK: Lukas Hradecky (Bayern Leverkusen) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
There were only a few goalkeepers who stood out this week, none more so than Hradecky. The Finnish keeper despite conceding twice was named keeper of the week in Germany for his performance in Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with Munich, making seven saves in total.
LB: Sakina Karchaoui (PSG Women) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
The first of two defenders I have selected from the Women's top tier in France and what a potential IF it is. With high pace and both 4* WF and SM, Karchaoui could become an in-demand IF early on. After scoring once and providing two assists in a 3-0 win her inclusion is practically guaranteed.
CB: Wendie Renard (Lyon Women) - 88 OVR -> 89 OVR:
The second comes from one of the highest-rated Women in the game. Renard is well known for her offensive ability and provided both a goal and an assist during Lyon’s 4-0 away win this weekend.
CB: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Several players received the highest grade from Kicker this weekend and I expect all that did so to end up featuring in TOTW. Hummels gets the nod for his brace during Dortmund’s 4-2 win away at Freiburg.
RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 89 OVR -> 90 OVR:
With the third goal going down as an own goal it does mean that Salah only has two assists instead of three but he still played a big role in all three goals. Three assists would have secured his spot but I am still willing to take the punt on the Egyptian with two considering the lack of PL options.
CM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Inter Milan) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Both AC and Inter Milan are starting to become dangerous clubs in Italy again. Not to the level they once were but at least it’s a start after an underwhelming decade or so. Inter will hold the bragging rights after their most recent encounter though, winning 5-1. Mkhitaryan claimed the headlines, scoring twice and assisting another
CM: Bryan Cristante (ROMA) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Roma managed to score seven without reply this weekend, which will result in at least one IF for them. Dybala is an option but with the Argentine being subbed off I think Cristante is the better option, scoring once and assisting another two from the middle of the park
CAM: Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) - 80 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Alvarez received the highest match rating from the PL this weekend with a 9/10. It comes after he provided two assists to help City come from behind to beat West Ham 3-1. I would expect him to be one of the featured players this week, being the best option for it by far.
ST: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) - 90 OVR -> 91 OVR:
La Liga options were few and far between and although I was hesitant to include many big names as a result I couldn’t ignore Lewandowski. Barcelona recorded a comfortable 5-0 win over Real Betis with the Polish striker scoring once and assisting another two.
ST: Richarlison (Tottenham) - 80 OVR -> 84 OVR:
It’s not often that a player will receive an IF after playing only a handful of minutes but some circumstances simply stand out. Richarlison has struggled to make an impact at Tottenham so far but he delivered this weekend. He came off the bench late on trailing 1-0 to Sheffield United. The Brazilian scored in the 98th minute before providing the assist in the 111th to secure a 2-1 win.
ST: Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
After a slow start to life at Juventus Vlahovic will be hoping this is finally the season in which he can showcase his potential at the highest level. Juventus impressed on Saturday, beating Lazio 3-1. The Serbian scored two of those three goals making him a strong candidate for TOTW.
Subs
GK: Alexandre Oukidja (FC Metz) - 73 OVR -> 80 OVR:
I struggled to find many gold goalkeeping options but with a strong silver candidate from a top five division, I am happy to include him as the sub-keeper. Oukidja made a total of ten saves to keep his clean sheet and was awarded Ligue 1 keeper of the week as a result.
LB: Fran Garcia (Real Madrid) - 78 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Real Madrid battled towards a 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad on Sunday with Fran Garcia providing the assist on both their goals. A few players are battling it out for this position but the Spaniard gets the nod from me.
LM: Salem Al Dawsari (Al-Hilal) - 77 OVR -> 83 OVR:
The Saudi division will be a highly used one with all the high-profile transfers over the summer. The first IF likely on the way is not one you would expect though. Al Dawsari scored three times for Al-Hilal during their 6-1 win.
LM: Kerem Akturkoglu (Galatasaray) - 77 OVR -> 83 OVR:
With numerous hat tricks from lower gold midfielders Akturkogly becomes a risk for missing out on this side. The vast majority of weeks he would make the cut though so I have forced him in. With two goals and one assist from the left side of midfield, he was crucial for Galatasaray.
ST: Melissa Kossler (Hoffenheim Women) - 79 OVR -> 83 OVR:
There are regularly high-scoring wins in the Women's game, with the quality gap being significant from a few sides in each division. Hoffenheim recorded a 9-0 win this weekend, with three goals and one assist coming from Kossler.
ST: Serhou Guirassy (VfB Stuttgart) - 77 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Over to another hat trick now with Guirassy’s treble helping Stuttgart to record a 3-1 away win over Mainz with his 97th-minute goal securing both his hat trick and his place in this side.
ST: Tarem Moffi (Nice) - 77 OVR -> 83 OVR:
One of the biggest shocks this week was Nice’s away win over PSG. The encounter turned out to be the Moffi show, with the Nigerian forward scoring twice and assisting another to claim a huge 9/10 from L’equipe.
Reserves
CM:Pavel Sulc (Viktoria Plzen) - 69 OVR -> 80 OVR:
There were only a couple of non-gold hat tricks this week which makes the reserve section difficult to predict. There were several with two goals and one assist though and I have singled out Sulc because Plzen won 7-1. It's a scoreline which stands out thus EA are more likely to take notice.
CM: Luca Mazzitelli (Frosinone) - 73 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Another punt I have made within the reserves section is Mazzitelli. Frosinone has made a strong start this season and another three points this weekend puts them up to 6th. Mazzitelli scored twice during their 4-2 win over Sassuolo.
LM: Joakim Persson (IK Sirius) - 60 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Despite struggling for points this season Sirius would have identified this match as a potential three points. What they managed was extraordinary though. Notching seven goals without reply will be the confidence boost they need to hopefully stay in the division. Persson scored three of those seven, making him an easy choice for this prediction.
CAM: Bernard (Panathinaikos) - 75 OVR -> 83 OVR:
A positional change for Bernard will make a good addition to early sides and despite playing in the Greek division his nationality makes him easy enough to link. The Brazilian netted a hat trick this weekend as Panathinaikos strolled to a 5-0 victory.
ST: Haris Tabakovic (Hertha Berlin) - 69 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Hertha Berlin was relegated dramatically last season and has taken life in Bundesliga 2 quite poorly so far. A Tabakovic hat trick helped secure a 3-0 win over Braunschweig which they will hope to build upon going forward.
That concludes this week's Team of the Week predictions! What do you make of these predictions? Is there anyone else who should have made the TOTW? Let us know below!