Team of the Season is just around the corner, so we thought we'd make some predictions for who we expect to see in each of the major league Team of the Season squads coming during the promo this year.
Through the words of Patric, and the graphics of Helmar Designs, we'll show you who's expected to star in each team, explain the reasons for their inclusion, and give you a glimpse of what their Team of the Season Items could look like.
In the last article, we looked at who could be in the Bundesliga TOTS, but today we'll be taking a look at potential players from Serie A.
Serie A Team of the Season Prediction
Serie A TOTS Starting XI
GK: Ivan Provedel (Lazio)
There are a couple of good goalkeepers in Serie A this season but Ivan Provedel has been by far the best goalkeeper in the current campaign with 18 clean sheets in 30 games so far. This has helped Lazio become the best defence in Serie A with just 20 goals conceded and helped them also climb up to second place in the Serie A table, being unbeaten now in eight consecutive Serie A games.
CB: Kim Min-jae (Napoli)
Kvaratskhelia gets the headlines as the bargain signing of the season in Serie A – and rightfully so. But Kim Min-jae has also proven to be quite the addition for Napoli. An unsung hero for the Azzurri, the South Korean international has been the best center back in Serie A this season – hands down. And there’s plenty of competition. Not only from Monza’s Armando Izzo, but the likes of Fiorentina’s Lucas Martínez Quarta, Juventus’ Gleison Bremer, and even new signing Stefan Posch of Bologna have been excellent. Min-jae sits at his own table, though. He’s been intelligent with his passing in the build-up play, a warrior in the air, and resolute in one-on-ones. The 26-year-old is doing it all in central defence for the Partenopei, and you can scarcely recall a time in which an attacking player has beaten him head-to-head.
CB: Danilo (Juventus)
Danilo has been a top-five defender in Serie A this season. Producing consistently for Juventus so far. Danilo has taken on a leading role in the club and has been a significant part of their recent success climbing back into the top six after they got punished with a 15-point deduction. With injuries hindering the Bianconeri this season, especially that of captain Leonardo Bonucci, Danilo has had to step into a more significant role with this team on and off the field. Danilo has donned the captain’s armband in Bonucci’s absence and has lived up to the challenge. He has led them to 8 straight victories and a defence that didn’t give up a goal in 770 minutes.
LB: Mário Rui (Napoli)
There have been so many great performances from Napoli players this season, and it may seem overwhelming to have five players from the Partenopei in our prediction for Team of the Season. Mário Rui is having the season of his life. He has been one of the best left-backs in European football this season, especially when looking at his chance creation. The Portuguese wide man has recorded six assists with 2.6 key passes per game. He has done a fantastic job of feeding opportunities to the forwards and supporting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left flank.
CM: Sergej Milinković-Savić (Lazio)
Scarily enough, it seems like Sergej Milinković-Savić gets better with each passing season. Milinković-Savić was already one of the elite players in Serie A coming into the 2022/23 campaign, recording 11 goals and 11 assists last season. This season, the Lazio superstar has six goals and eight assists, ceding some more of the goal-scoring duties to breakout winger Mattia Zaccagni – we all know he’s already been feeding Ciro Immobile goals, too. Milinković-Savić is a generational athlete in midfield with his ability to bully defenders or glide past them. He is strong yet has endless stamina, and, on top of all that, the technical quality to pull off backheel assists or Goal of the Season candidates from beyond the box.
CM: Piotr Zieliński (Napoli)
When you have two players among the top five assist providers, you are bound to be on the top of the league table. Piotr Zieliński is the second Napoli player to have more than five assists, seven to be exact at the time of writing this. With only eight games to go the Polish international has already equalled his previous season's tally and has been a critical reason why Napoli is on course to a Serie League title.
CAM: Paulo Dybala (Roma)
Roma has been almost entirely reliant on Paulo Dybala for goals, with Lorenzo Pellegrini standing out as the only true star in midfield or the attack. The Giallorossi are third in Serie A and that is thanks to Dybala’s technical quality and clutchness. For example, Roma would have already been eliminated in the Coppa Italia by Genoa if it weren’t for the Argentinian’s class. Dybala has found the back of the net eleven times and is averaging 2.3 key passes per game for his new employers, producing at exactly the level they expected when they signed him for Juventus. After a couple of disappointing seasons, Dybala is showing why he is one of the most beloved players in Serie A – and one of the most valuable in terms of his effectiveness.
LW: Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
Mattia Zaccagni has always been one of the better players in Serie A, and Verona certainly misses him. Meanwhile, Zaccagni has moved on to bigger and better things with one of Italy’s most prestigious clubs. The 27-year-old is in his prime and has broken out in a big way, becoming one of the biggest stars in Serie A after being a solid role player for Verona. Thriving in a more attacking role as a left winger rather than a two-way midfielder, Zaccagni has scored ten goals with five assists. Active and clinical, Zaccagni has become an absolute nightmare for defences, even averaging more than three fouls drawn per game.
LW: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
The only player who can even consider pushing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia out of the MVP top spot is his teammate Victor Osimhen because since the season kicked off, Kvaratskhelia has looked like a lock for the title of the best player of the season.
The Georgian icon is the signing of the season in all of European football and we're talking about a player who has elevated Napoli to being the best team in Italy after years of looking great but falling apart. Kvaratskhelia plays football the way it was meant to be played. Carefree yet giving to his teammates, Kvaratskhelia is a gift to the city of Naples and to the world. You have to watch this magical young winger with the ball at his feet because it feels like he is kicking the world with his boots and tear-dropping it into the top corner with a mere flick.
ST: Lautaro Martínez (Inter)
The Inter Milan man had an underwhelming season by his standards in the first half. However, even then he has scored 14 goals, with the latest coming in a 2-0 win against Lecce at home. With Romelu Lukaku returning after a lengthy injury spell, Martinez's spot in the starting XI is in real danger unless he continues to find the back of the net.
ST: Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
Victor Osimhen might not be the best striker in European football. Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, and Erling Haaland seem to have a monopoly on that conversation. And since he is playing striker for PSG, Kylian Mbappé does, too.
However, Osimhen needs to be in the conversation. He is one of the most unique strikers in world football. The Nigerian’s intelligence off the ball is mind-blowing. He embarrasses so many defenders with his ability to read the exact right time to spring his move, and you can see how fed up even the best defenders in Serie A are with the task of marking him. A pure goal-scorer, Osimhen has a knack for stepping up in the biggest games and biggest moments. Just ask Chris Smalling or Bremer. They were both outdone by the Napoli star. Osimhen has 21 goals and 4 assists this season for the Partenopei, and he doesn’t look like slowing down for a second. If anything, he seems to get stronger each week he plays and it will be interesting to see if he'll still be at Napoli next season.
Serie A TOTS Substitutes
RB: Stefan Posch (Bologna)
When we start to talk about the best defenders in Serie A this season, there's no way not to talk about Bologna and Stefan Posch. The Austrian fullback is one of their key players this season, both in defence and attack. Posch, who's playing as a right-back most of the time but is also capable of playing CB, has scored five goals this season and registered one assist which is one of the reasons Bologna is in touch with the European starting spots this season.
LW: Rafael Leão (Milan)
Last season’s MVP in Serie A, Rafael Leão has been a bit inconsistent in 2022/23, but he is still one of the absolute best players in the Italian top flight. Leão is downright unstoppable when he is at his best, and if people consider this a bit of a step back in performance, the fact that he has ten goals and six assists in a “step back” is a sign of how brilliant he is. Graceful and explosive, Leão’s finishing and technical quality are often underrated. He is silky-smooth on the ball with his touch, and then he can go into another gear and just blow by defenders. Leão is a thrilling player to watch, even if Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s breakout has overshadowed him.
CM: Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)
Following a torrid 2021/22 campaign in which Rabiot didn't score a single goal in 45 appearances for Juve, the French international has performed much better in 2022/23 by scoring nine in his 33 appearances to date. Juventus was handed a 15 points deduction a few weeks ago and you could have thought they'll miss out on European football this season but thanks to their defence and Rabiot's good run of form they managed to push back near the top six and with just four points between them and Atalanta, Juve and Rabiot are trying to push even more to secure Europa League for 2024.
ST: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
Atalanta is right in the middle of an intense race in Serie A for the Champions League spots and the European starting spots in general. And Ademola Lookman has, despite a couple of bad games recently, taken all the scoring responsibilities scoring 13 goals and also assisting another four so far to help Atalanta climb up to sixth, four points ahead of Juventus Turin.
Serie A TOTS Honourable Mentions
CM: Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli)
Talking about Napoli's season, there's one player who's massively going under the radar but yet probably being their most important player this season apart from Kavaratskhelia and Osimhen. The extraordinary midfielder is playing a superb season in Serie A and is one of the lynchpins of a phenomenal side. Lobotka has formed an insane partnership in midfield with former Fulham player Zambo Anguissa and Piotr Zielinksi, with the Slovakian very much being the pass master of the trio, picking up the ball from Anguissa and quickly moving it up the pitch. His performances did not go unnoticed as Liverpool seems to be interested in signing him as the successor to Thiago.
CB: Fikayo Tomori (Milan)
Tomori arrived on an initial loan from Chelsea where he had fallen out of favour and he did enough in those six months to convince Milan to invest €28m in order to sign him permanently. His performances since arriving have earned him plenty of credit in the bank, especially off the back of a Scudetto-winning season in which the defence was the strength. There have been a number of high-quality performances to look back on too, such as the one away against Napoli last season in which he and Pierre Kalulu kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 win that swung momentum hugely in the title race. He still has his flaws and errors here and there but he's already a rock in Milan's defence and once again proved it this season.
RM: Armand Laurienté (Sassuolo)
Sassuolo is a team that has performed far below their standards and expectations, as they find themselves in the absolute middle of the Serie A table, nowhere near the international starting spots and not in trouble of getting into the relegation zone. However, Armand Laurienté has been perhaps their best player this season, creating six goals for his teammates while also having scored seven goals by himself this season.
ST: M'Bala Nzola (Spezia)
After an abysmal last season in which he suffered from injuries, M'Bala Nzola returned with a vengeance. The Angolan had only scored two goals in the previous campaign but is already up to 13 goals and two assists so far this season. This is more than 50 per cent of his team's goals and his Spezia side is currently sitting 17th in the league table and fighting against relegation.
RM: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
Players who stay at one club their entire career are rare these days but Domenico Berardi is one of those. The 28-year-old spent his entire career at Sassuolo, coming through their youth system and briefly being in a co-ownership with Juventus, but famously refused a move to Turin. At Sassuolo he's already a club legend with just 28 and he once again enjoys a good campaign for his side, despite not having the number of his stellar 2021/22 season. So far this season Berardi is at six goals and six assists for his side and if he's not in the main side he could also get a Flashback TOTS.
When is the Serie A TOTS released for FIFA 23?
The Serie A TOTS will be released on May 26th, 2023.
Do you agree with our Serie A Team of the Season? Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments!
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