Another week of football passed by and we're heading straight into the international midweek just before another set of league football on the weekend, the last one before international break. Team of the Week 3 is looking decent with some twists and turns around the corner but I'll explain it in the article.
If we're taking a look at the past week, we saw some surprising result with Inter loosing to Sassuolo but the most unexpected result was Wolverhampton shocking Manchester City as the Wolves beat them 2-1 at home. Aston Villa completely trashed Brighton & Hove and Ollie Watkins put on a show which should 100% result in the inform for the forward and Real Madrid recorded a statement win against Girona, beating them with 3-0 away from home. And this is where you'll see the first „unexpected“ inclusion as I have not included Bellingham but with him being nominated for Player of the Month I don't think EA will give him the inform and POTM at the same time, that usually won't happen in such cases. One player I've also left out is Rafael Leao but I would expect either him or Berardi being featured, for me personally Sassuolo beating Inter is a bigger achievement and that's why I went with Berardi. Oh and don't be surprised to see two players from teams who played against each other midweek, they're in for performances in different games! We will also see at least one women being included in my opinion and I think most of you already know who it could be and you'll either be happy or afraid, tell us! But for now, go on and check out the predicted squad and the reasoning behind my picks!
TOTW3 Predicted Starting XI
GK: Mory Diaw (Clermont Foot 63) - 74 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Kylian Mbappé and Paris Saint-Germain were left frustrated in a 0-0 draw away to struggling Clermont Foot 63 at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied on Saturday. Diaw’s career trajectory is well known now. He came through the ranks at PSG as a youngster but never played for the top team and left the club under a cloud in 2015. After a long spell abroad he returned to France last year when he joined Clermont and has since successfully restored his reputation in the land of his birth. This was arguably his best display yet in a Clermont shirt as he produced 10 saves, the most of his career in a Ligue 1 game and picked up a huge 9 match rating from L'Equipe.
LWB: Grimaldo (Leverkusen) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Bayer Leverkusen continues to be in red hot form in the Bundesliga, recording a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Mainz to claim back the top spot in the German top-flight. Spanish wing-back Grimaldo, who joined the club in the summer, once again proved why Leverkusen signed him and netted another free-kick goal to make it 2-0 right after the hour mark.
CB: Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Crystal Palace moved above Manchester United in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon. Roy Hodgson's men grabbed the points thanks to a brilliant strike from Danish defender Joachim Andersen, who hammered the ball into the top corner after United failed to deal with Eberechi Eze's free-kick. The win takes Palace into ninth place, leapfrogging United who drop to tenth and were roundly booed off the field after a dire display.
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Al-Hilal remains unbeaten in the Saudi Professional League after recording a 2-0 victory against Al-Shabab. Former Napoli defender Koulibaly not only kept a clean sheet, he also managed to get his name on the scoresheet as he was the one who opened the scoring after halftime and after Neymar missed a penalty in the first half.
CM: Zubimendi (Real Sociedad) - 80 OVR -> 85* OVR:
La Liga is far from easy to predict this week with two matchday counting for Team of the Week and no real standout performances so I'm going for a player based on the matchup and ended up including Real Sociedad's midfielder Zubimendi. Sociedad picked up all three points and bragging-rights against Bilbao with a 3-0 win in the Basque derby and with Zubimendi registering an assist for one of the goals I'll take the punt on him and also make him my FTOTW.
CM: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) - 87 OVR -> 88 OVR:
Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League as they cruised to a 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon and remains unbeaten in the Premier League along with rivals Tottenham. Norwegian international Martin Odegaard was brilliant against the Cherries, whipping a superb cross into the box before Arsenal's first and scored the second from the penalty spot, sending Neto the wrong way after Nketiah was fouled. He also won the penalty from which Havertz scored the third and assisted White's late header. Back to his best after a poor performance in last week's north London derby.
CM: Aurelien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Real Madrid overpowered early La Liga surprise package Girona as they surged to a 3-0 win in Catalonia on Saturday night. The Frenchman continues to be one of the bright lights since the start of the new season. Scored the second goal from a header off of a Kroos corner kick and was the ultimate ball-winner in midfield. Finished the match with 4 completed tackles, 3 interceptions, 8 of 11 ground duels won, was fouled 3 times, and 1 key pass including the transition play for Bellingham’s goal. With Bellingham being nominated for the POTM award I personally think they will pick another player for the inform and Tchouameni would be the next best option, Camavinga is also an option who played LB.
RM: Angel Di María (SL Benfica) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
SL Benfica continued their impressive run of form and recorded their sixth consecutive win, beating Porto 1-0 in the Classico. The game was full of intensity and as Porto was reduced to 10 men after a straight red Benfica took charge and it was world champions Angel Di Maria who scored the game-winning goal for his side after converting a pass from David Neres.
RM: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Sassuolo pulled off another massive upset in less than seven days as they fought back from a narrow deficit to beat Inter 2-1 at Giuseppe Meazza. Only four days after dismantling Juventus 4-2 on home turf, Alessio Dionisi’s men knocked Nerazzurri down from a perfect Serie A start. And who else than Domenico Berardi has been the decisive man on that night? The goalscorer was fantastic in the second half and almost single-handedly turned the game around with a goal and an assist. Pinamonti has deservedly stolen the headlines in the last few weeks with four goals in three games, but on Wednesday - especially in the second half - Berardi was the main man. Not only did he set up Bajrami for the equaliser and score a stunning goal himself, he created the most chances in the match (4) which would have been crazy to think when the players headed in for the break with Inter so dominant. I already said it on Twitter last week, Domenico Berardi is for sure one of the, if not THE most underrated player in the Top 5 leagues.
ST: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) - 80 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Aston Villa soared into the Premier League top three with a stunning 6-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon. Ollie Watkins ran Brighton ragged in the first half, threatening to add to his tally every time he was allowed to run at pace from the left channel. The 27-year-old then struck an all-important fourth to kill off hopes of a Seagulls fightback and complete his hat-trick past the hour. The icing on the cake came via a late assist to cap an exceptional all-round display that day.
ST: Lautaro Martínez (Inter) - 87 OVR -> 88 OVR:
Inter have bounced back from their 2-1 defeat against Sassuolo on Thursday which saw them drop points for the first time this season. Skipper Lautaro Martinez found the back of the net four times, increasing his goal tally to nine goals in seven games and keeping Inter on level terms with Milan at the summit of the league with 18 points each. The Argentine was flawless as he made an immediate impact on the match, not only scoring four goals with his fine composure in front of goal and combining very well with the midfield when his back was facing the goal but the Inter skipper also demonstrated his strong technical ability to beat his markers and picked out his teammates with some exquisite passes in-between the lines. Gazzetta handed him a 9 match rating which probably happens twice a season.
TOTW 3 Predicted Subs & Reserves
CB: Ross Sykes (R. Union St.-G) - 68 OVR -> 80 OVR:
With EA reducing the Team of the Week to 18 players, it's even harder now for silver players to make it into the side. That being said, Ross Sykes stands a really good chance to be featured this week after the English defender scored twice in Union's 3-1 victory against Sporting Charleroi.
CAM: Yusuf Sari (Adana Demirspor) - 71 OVR -> 80 OVR:
With all the hat-tricks this week I had to make a cut but one player who recorded a hat-trick of assists I'm predicting to be in. Adana Demirspor recorded a 4-0 win at home to Alanyaspor and Sari assisted three of the goals.
CAM: Maghnes Akliouche (AS Monaco) - 68 OVR -> 80 OVR:
AS Monaco bounced back from defeat against local rivals OGC Nice to beat Olympique de Marseille (3-2) in Gennaro Gattuso’s first game as manager of the club. With Minamino and Golovin absent for Monaco, all the focus was on Ben Yedder and Balogun up front. Yet Akliouche turned out to be the star of the show with the 21-year-old propelled into the starting line-up for the first time this season and delivering in style with two goals and an assist. Undoubtedly the best game of his young career. He was central to all of Monaco’s creative efforts. End product has thus far been an issue for the academy product, who is blessed with technical ability. He has been on the fringes of the starting XI for some time, and in the absence of Aleksandr Golovin and Takumi Minamino, he certainly threw his name into the hat.
RM: Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
There have been so many hat-tricks the past weekend which makes it really hard to choose players who get in or not but one who I think should be safe this week is Bologna's Orsolini who scored all three goals in Bologna's home victory against Empoli.
ST: Alassane Pléa (M'gladbach) - 77 OVR -> 81 OVR:
Borussia Mönchengladbach recorded a much-needed victory on the weekend in the Bundesliga, beating VfL Bochum away with 3-1. French attacker Alassane Plea ended his goal drought of 23 games without scoring in the Bundesliga with scoring twice and assisting the third for his side.
ST: Santiago Giménez (Feyenoord) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
The remaining minutes of De Klassieker were played out on Wednesday afternoon with Feyenoord sealing a 4-0 victory over Ajax in an empty Johan Cruijff ArenA. The game was postponed on Sunday after the home crowd threw fireworks on the pitch with Feyenoord leading 3-0. The game resumed on Wednesday in the 55th minute but who would have thought Ajax would make a comeback was wrong as Santiago Gimenez completed his hat-trick just 5 minutes after restart and with him also registering an assist he should be in this week even though there's an crazy amount of hat-tricks.
ST: Racheal Kundananji (Madrid CFF) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Well, this is going to be an interesting one and for sure one the community is hyped for because her gold card is already broken and overpowered in game. Real Madrid's Kundananji scored three goals in Madrid's 5-1 win against Sevilla on the weekend and this could be on of the most broken informs and surely not a cheap one too given all the hype around her gold card.
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!
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