Hello and welcome to our prediction for Team of the Week 4 which will be released on Wednesday this week!
We saw some insane games over the past week with an additional matchday for Premier League and La Liga mid-week and this gives us a ton of more potential inform options with big results coming from Man United's win over Tottenham which was arguably their best performance in a long time! There are a ton of other options from other leagues too, some were debatable and some like Dembélé or Bellingham should definetly make it. Also we can probably expect at least one MLS inform as we had the Los Angeles derby but one thing which is very important to keep in mind this week is the upcoming "Out of Position" promo which should arrive on Friday and therefore some players we predict to be in TOTW 6 could potentially miss out and instead be in the promo!
STARTING XI
GK: Odisseas Vlachodimos (SL Benfica) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
There have been a good amount of top class performances from gold goalkeepers this week which makes it hard to decide but one of my choices for this week is Benfica's Vlachodimos who made a total of five saves in his side's 1-0 victory away against Porto.
LB: Adam Marušić (Latium) - 79 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Lazio did not suffer on the pitch without their star striker Ciro Immobile, putting on a good show in their 2-0 win over Atalanta. Felipe Anderson was named Man of the Match but one goal might not be enough this week and I'm instead including Marusic who registered an assist and was rewarded with a 7.5 match rating.
CB: Florian Lejeune (Rayo Vallecano) - 77 OVR -> 81 OVR:
Rayo Vallecano went back on winning ways after two consecutive La Liga draws, recording a trashing 5-1 over relegation-battling Cadiz. French centre-back Florian Lejeune was one of the standouts, scoring twice for his side.
CB: Matthijs De Ligt (FC Bayern) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Bayern Munich returned to winning ways away from home in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win away to TSG Hoffenheim thanks to goals from Jamal Musiala and Choupo-Moting. The Dutchman continues his consistent run of form since arriving at the Allianz Arena and served more of the same on the night. He did not put a foot wrong and kept things simple when needed.
CDM: Fred (Manchester United) - 80 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Manchester United pushed from the start against a caution Tottenham and picked up a completely deserved 2-0 victory, and the scorecard could have been shambolic had Hugo Lloris not gotten into the thuck of things with a few top-notch saves. With Tottenham's midfield lacking Fred was allowed to express himself a bit more creatively and he caused some serious problems. He gave his side the lead just after half-time and also won the ball before Fernandes scored the second goal of the game. Named Man of the Match and probably sealed his World Cup spot with this performance.
CDM: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Borussia Dortmund were at their imperious best as they went back on winning ways, claiming a stunning 5-0 win over VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Saturday with arguably their best performance of the season so far. Jude Bellingham scored his first two Bundesliga goals of the season and set the tone for his side with an outstanding performance in the middle of the park. He look looked to venture forward all game long and his link-up play with his teammates in the final third was a joy to watch. The England international also played a crucial role in setting up Moukoko's goal late on and was named MOTM
CAM: Steven Berghuis (Ajax) - 82 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Ajax Amsterdam saw off RKC Waalwijk 4-1 to remain top of the Eredivisie. After their 7-1 win last weekend many expected an Ajax inform but got disappointed, this week we should see one in the name of Steven Berghuis who scored twice and assisted another one for his side.
RW: Ousmane Dembélé (FC Barcelona) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Barcelona came into the game against Bilbao on the back of a 3-0 win over Villareal and they were full of confidence and momentum and continued their impressive run of form in the Spanish league with a 4-0 win on Sunday night. The Frenchman was handed a start here after a series of inconsistent performances in his recent outings. Dembele stepped up big time and produced a masterclass for Barcelona. He scored a goal and picked up three assists against Athletic Club.
LW: Vinícius Jr. (Real Madrid) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
Real Madrid returned to La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu against a new-look Sampaoli Sevilla side and recorded a 3-1 win and remained top of La Liga. The 22-year-old Brazilian was brilliant out on the left for Real Madrid. His directness to run and dribble pace caused Sevilla a lot of problems, and he contributed directly with two important assists.
ST: Antoine Griezmann (Atlético de Madrid) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Atletico de Madrid went back on winning ways after their draw against Vallecano and took all three points with a narrow 2-1 victory in their clash with Real Betis on Sunday afternoon. Griezmann played as a second striker, but he seemed to be everywhere in the attacking midfield line and the attack. Started the second half well and created a good chance for Correa, then scored an olimpico from the resulting 55th-minute corner. Scored his second goal later on and seems to be back in form with Atletico's form looking good for now.
ST: Lautaro Martínez (Inter) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
Inter Milan nearly shot themselves in the foot against Fiorentina but ultimately were able to come away with a much-needed win at the Artemio Franchi Stadium on Saturday. Lautaro Martinez was easily Inter's standout player on the night and was a tireless worker upfield. The Argentine took both of his goals with ruthless efficiency and also dropped deep to defend from the front. An 8 match rating from Gazzetta should finally see him getting in.
SUBS & RESERVES
SUBS
GK: Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest) - 79 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Nottingham Forest climbed off the foot of the Premier League table with a famous 1-0 victory at home to Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime, courtesy of Taiwo Awoniyi's second-half strike. Dean Henderson made some really important saves, including denying Trent Alexander-Arnold and van Dijk late on. He also was MOTM midweek in their draw against Brighton, two MOTM awards plus the big win and clean sheet against Liverpool could be enough for him for the inform.
CB: Andrei Girotto (FC Nantes) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Nice and Nantes shared points on Sunday in a 1-1 draw and despite Nantes being down to 9 men they managed to secure one point away from home thanks to Andrei Girotto was crucial in defence and picked up MOTM.
CAM: Brahim Díaz (Milan) - 78 OVR -> 84 OVR*:
The Rossoneri were sublime as they picked up a 4-1 win against Monza. Brahim Diaz has not been able to consistently sow his undoubted quality throughout his spell with Milan. However, when he is in his groove, he more often than not steals the show completely. And that was the case against Monza as he scored two superb and quite different goals that clinched the game for his side before halftime. An 8 match rating from Gazzetta should be enough for him to pick up the inform.
LM: Denis Bouanga (LAFC) - 75 OVR -> 81 OVR:
The two Los Angeles clubs met in the conference semi-finals, an El Trafico for the ages, a rivalry that always seems to deliver on the biggest stages. Black & Gold picked up the 3-2 victory and so did a spot in the Western Conference Final thanks to two goals from Dennis Bouanga who could pick up an inform for it.
LW: Vincenzo Grifo (SC Freiburg) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Third placed Freiburg recovered from their 0-5 loss against Bayern Munich the week before and recorded a comfortable 2-0 win at home against 1-men Werder Bremen. Vincenzo Grifo scored one and assisted the other for his side and with 39 goals, he is now the most prolific Italian in Bundesliga history, surpassing former Bayern attacker Luca Toni.
ST: Danny Ings (Aston Villa) - 79 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Aaron Danks' Aston Villa blitzed Brentford inside an incredible 14 minutes to claim their first win in over a month. Bailey did some real damage inside that first seven minutes, but with him recently being included in Rulebreakers I'm instead going with Danny Ings two goal, one coming from the penalty spot.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Laurent Blanc's debut had ended in a 3-2 defeat at Stade Rennais FC last weekend but he saw enough to keep faith in the majority of the players and hasn't been disappointed as Lyon took all three points against Montpellier. Alexandre Lacazette was the hero as his seventh goal of the season secured the much-needed win for Lyon and he also registered the assist for Aouar's opening goal.
RESERVES
CB: Arnau Comas (FC Basel 1893) - 66 OVR -> 76 OVR:
There have been only a couple hat-tricks this week which makes predicting the reserves harder than usual but defenders who scored goals previously have been a safe call. Arnau Comas did exactly that, the Spaniard scored twice in Basel's 3-1 win against Winterthur.
RM: Doru Popadiuc (AFC Chindia) - 64 OVR -> 74 OVR:
We finally could see another silver inform included in the side this week and even though he's literally impossible to link it's a deserved one. Doru Popadiuc scored all three goals for his side in their 3-0 win against Voluntari.
RW: Romain Del Castillo (Stade Brestois 29) - 73 OVR -> 79 OVR:
Stade Brest picked up a much-needed victory in Ligue 1 on Sunday, beating Clermont Foot away with 3-1. Del Castillo was the best player on the pitch, scoring the first goal of his side from the spot and assisting the other two.
ST: Tom Bradshaw (Millwall) - 69 OVR -> 77 OVR:
Millwall made it three consecutive Championship wins after they beat Watford 3-0 on Wednesday last week. Forward Bradshaw was Man of the Match for his side, scoring all three goals and could be in the side this week.
ST: Renzo López (Central Córdoba) - 67 OVR -> 76 OVR:
Another TOTW, another week of trying to predict a Liga Profesional inform. Central Cordoba de Santiago picked up all three points with a 4-1 win against Union and Renzo Lopez was the main man on that night, scoring three goals and adding an assist to his name.
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!
Comments