Hello and welcome to our prediction for Team of the Week 13 which will be released on Wednesday this week!
After last week's pretty boring and disappointing Team of the Week we're back with one of the better side's we've seen so far and it could be a very defender-based one! Hakimi could pick up his inform just a few days after he got his TOTY, we will definetly see Premier League defenders with the likes of Tarkowski and/or Dawson and Kolo Muani should finally get his first special card too! But enough said, go on and check out who could be in TOTW15!
STARTING XI
GK: Keylor Navas (Nott. Forest) - 88 OVR -> 89 OVR:
Brennan Johnson’s goal clinched an important victory for Nottingham Forest as they beat Leeds United 1-0 at the City Ground. It was a heck of a debut from the PSG loanee. A one-man road-block in the first 45 minutes, when he single-handedly kept his team in front. Thoroughly deserved his clean-sheet with a couple of other important saves.
LB: Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund) - 82 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Borussia Dortmund delivered one of their best performances of the season so far as they claimed a thumping 5-1 win over SC Freiburg. Guerreiro was given the opportunity to start in the absence of Julian Ryerson. And he certainly made the most of it. He had a few problems early on and also picked up a yellow card for a clumsy challenge. But he looked much more dangerous and switched on in the second half, and helped set up three of Borussia Dortmund’s five goals.
CB: James Tarkowski (Everton) - 79 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Sean Dyche's first game in charge of Everton saw his new side beat Premier League leaders Arsenal 1-0 at Goodison Park. Sent the home fans into raptures by heading in his first goal for the club from McNeil’s corner kick and along with aerial dominance, his willingness to put his body on the line showed he’s hopefully well-suited to the defensive fundamentals his reunited gaffer will demand from him.
CB: Ibanez (Roma) - 79 OVR -> 84 OVR:
There are actually a couple of defenders this week who could pick up an inform this week which makes it a bit harder to pick the correct one. One of the contenders is Roma’s Ibanez who gave his side the lead in the opening minutes with a towering header following a Dybala corner. A solid defensive showing alongside Smalling and Mancini earned him a 7.5 match rating from Gazzetta which usually is enough for a defender.
LB: Jordi Alba (Barcelona) - 85 OVR -> 87 OVR:
After struggling to crank open Sevilla’s defence in the opening period, Barcelona came back strong to demolish Jorge Sampaoli’s side in the next period and recording a 3-0 victory after the finale whistle. The fullback was one of Barcelona’s most frequently used weapons to pry open Sevilla’s defence as he constantly looked for crosses. Heavily involved in the buildup in small combinations with Gavi, yet solid in defence. The Spaniard gave Barcelona the lead and laid it across the face of the goal later for Raphinha to tuck in.
CM: Hojbjerg (Tottenham) - 83 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Manchester City missed the chance to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to two points after falling to a 1-0 loss at Tottenham while Spurs' perfect record against Man City at their new home was extended to five wins from five as Harry Kane became their outright record scorer. Hojbjerg was outstanding that day. He pounced on Rodri’s mistimed pass to play Kane in for Spur’s opener and was his usual energetic self in Tottenham’s midfield. Regularly won possession through well-timed challenges or intercepting City’s passing by positioning himself correctly.
CM: Ruben Neves (Wolves) - 83 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Wolves capitalised on another awful Liverpool performance to run out 3-0 winners at Molineux thanks to Joel Matip's own goal and strikes from Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves. Neves consistently broke play up with tackles to keep the visitors at the bay. Got forward to run onto Traore's pass and finished well past Alisson.
CM: Berghuis (Ajax) - 84 OVR -> 87 OVR:
It seems like Ajax found their groove again after headcoach Schreuder got sacked two weeks ago as the dutch side picked up another convincing victory away at Cambuur with a 5-0 scoreline. Steven Berghuis was among the best players, scoring twice and also registered an assist.
LM: Coman (FC Bayern) - 86 OVR -> 88 OVR:
A stellar first-half performance saw Bayern Munich return to winning ways in the Bundesliga and reclaim top spot ahead of Union Berlin, securing a 4-2 victory over Wolfsburg. Coman arguably had his best game for Bayern in while, scoring twice and was involved in nearly everything dangerous coming from the Rekordmeister, especially in the first half.
ST: Pere Milla (Elche FC) - 76 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Villareal suffered another heavy shock defeat in La Liga, dropping al points away to Elche who ran out as 3-1 winners and recorded their first win of the season. It all was thanks to a Pere Milla hat-trick and although two of the goals came from the spot I can’t see him not being included.
ST: Iheanacho (Leicester City) - 77 OVR -> 87 OVR:
Leicester City traveled to Villa Park and made a real statement to the rest of the league. It was an attacking display as they defeated Aston Villa 4-2. Iheanacho finished the game against Villa with two assist and a goal to his name and besides his finishing ability he provided playmaking skills as well.
SUBS & RESERVES
SUBS
GK: Bizot (Stade Brestois) - 76 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Goalkeepers are once again not that easy to predict with basically no real standouts. One of the few players who could get in tho is Dutch shot-stopper Bizot from Brest’s goalless midweek draw against Lyon in which he made a total of eight saves and made it into L’Equipes TOTW.
RB: Posch (Bologna) - 75 OVR -> 83 OVR:
I included Posch in last weeks prediction when Orsolini ended up with the inform but we go again this week. Bologna recorded another Serie A win with a 2-1 against Fiorentina and Posch again scored one of the goals and picked up a 7.5 match rating.
CDM: Andre Gomes (LOSC Lille) - 75 OVR -> 83 OVR:
LOSC faced a big challenge as they made theatric across the north of France to Brittany: winless in two matches, they were taking on a Rennes side who had won their last ten home league matches - the most recent of which was a 3-0 win over Strasbourg. Gouiri scored for the hosts after just one minute but Les Dogues completed a remarkable comeback, winning 3-1 after the final whistle. Andre Gomes capped a brilliant performance with a clinical finish to made certain sure of the three points and with an 8 match rating I predict him to pick up the inform.
RM: Joao Mario (SL Benfica) - 79 OVR -> 84 OVR:
One player we definetly should see in the Team of the Week this week is Benfica’s midfielder Joao Mario. Benfica recorded two 3-0 wins the past week and with Joao Mario scoring twice in the first and scoring twice and also assisting one in the second game there should be no way he’s not included.
RW: Mbeumo (Brentford) - 75 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Southampton suffered a 3-0 defeat away at Brentford on Saturday as their struggles in the Premier League continued while Brentford climbed to seventh in the table. Bryan Mbeumo got himself a goal and an assist in that game and could pick up the inform this week after he was rewarded with a 9/10 match rating.
ST: Habib Diallo (Strasbourg) - 77 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Ligue 1 actually provides a good amount of option for informs this week with two matchdays and a couple of attacking players scoring twice. One of those is Strasbourg’s Habib Diallo who scored twice in his side’s 2-0 home victory over Montpellier.
ST: McGoldrick (Derby County) - 78 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Derby County thrashed Morecambe 5-0 at Pride Park last weekend and extended their winning run in the league to now six games. David McGoldrick was unstoppable that day as he scored his third hat-trick of the season and will definetly pick up his second inform this week.
RESERVES
CB: Baschirotto (Lecce) - 66 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Lecce recorded another comfortable victory in the 2022/23 Serie A campaign, beating Cremonese with 2-0. Baschirotto kept a clean sheet and also scored one of the two goals for his side.
CAM: Van der Venne (Melbourne City) - 65 OVR -> 79 OVR:
Melbourne City maintains at the top of the table after they recorded a 6-1 win at home against Macarthur. Van den Venne scored three from the CAM position and should make it this week.
LM: Arslan (Dynamo Dresden) - 67 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Dynamo Dresden recorded a trashing 7-1 win at home against Hallerscher FC in the third division in Germany and Arslan scored three and assisted another, making him impossible to not include.
LW: Antwi-Adjei (VfL Bochum) - 70 OVR -> 81 OVR:
VfL Bochum maintained their good home record this season in the Bundesliga, recording another victory with a 5-2 over Hoffenheim. Antwi-Adjei was named MOTM after he registered a hat-trick of assists.
ST: Sepulveda (Barracas) - 66 OVR -> 80 OVR:
Argentinian football came back two weeks ago and we are about to see another inform coming from there with Sepulveda scoring three goals in Barracas Central’s 5-3 thriller away at Sarmiento.
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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