Hello and welcome to my prediction for Team of the Week 18!
Another weekend full of football passed with all big leagues being back from the winter break and we've once again seen some exciting games such as Manchester City's entertaining and dramatic victory over Newcastle. But what to expect in terms of informs this week? Well, with Team of the Year most likely starting this Friday (based of last years schedule) we basically can rule out a Kevin De Bruyne inform as the Belgian midfielder should be in TOTY according to what people voted on social media. Premier League in general will have less cards than normally with only half of the teams in action which leaves more space for other leagues but at the same time I expect more random inclusions than usual. Let's go on and check out who can be a potential candidate for Team of the Week 18!
TOTW 18 Predicted Starting XI
GK: Kevin Trapp (Frankfurt) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Eintracht Frankfurt was the surprise team of the weekend in the German top-flight as they picked up a narrow 1-0 victory away at RB Leipzig thanks to an early Ansgar Knauff goal which was their first win ever away at Leipzig. Kevin Trapp could instead be the one to pick up the inform from that game after the German shot-stopper made a total of 8 saves to make sure they went home with all three points.
LB: Christopher Operi (Le Havre) - 71 OVR -> 86* OVR:
Olympique Lyon continues to struggle and get consistency to their game as they lost another game, this time 3-1 to Le Havre. Operi had a huge game for the hosts, providing plenty of attacking threat and scoring a stunning goal. His runs down the left flank caused problems for Lyon all night, and he was also involved in the build-up to both of the Havre goals.
CB: Amir Rrahmani (Napoli) - 81 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Napoli really can't get to their 2022/23 form and start a win streak but they finally had the luck on their side this time as they recorded a late 2-1 victory at home against Salernitana. Rrahmani was the one to shine deep in injury time as the defender went on and scored the winning goal and could find himself in the team this week.
CB: Fábio Cardoso (Porto FC) - 76 OVR -> 83 OVR:
FC Porto returned to winning ways in the Liga Portugal, beating Braga at home with 2-0 and kept pace with second placed Benfica. Porto's shot-stopper had a great game but with the amount of goalkeepers available I'm instead going with defender Cardoso who opened the scoring and also kept a clean sheet and was named MOTM.
CM: Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
High-flying Serie A leaders Inter picked mid-table Monza apart in a scintillating 5-1 victory at Stadio Brianteo on Saturday night. Simone Inzaghi’s team maintained their near-flawless away league record (8 wins, 2 draws) with a dominant display in Lombardy’s mini-derby. Another penalty, another goal for the Turk. But he also grabbed one more from open play, casually slotting the ball past the Monza keeper from the edge of the box.
RM: Alex Berenguer (A. Bilbao) - 80 OVR -> 86* OVR:
Athletic Club Bilbao moved up to third in the La Liga standings after a 2-1 home win in the Basque derby against Real Sociedad on Saturday and are on course to fight for a Champions League spot for next season. Alex Berenguer made the most of starting for the hosts in place of Inaki Williams, who's playing with Ghana at the Africa Cup, as the forward scored twice and was the main reason Bilbao picked up a prestigious win and extended their unbeaten run to now 13 games across all competitions.
CAM: Jamal Musiala (Bayern) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
There was to be no sleepy emergence from the winter break for Bayern Munich as they swept aside Hoffenheim 3-0 in the Bundesliga to keep the pressure on Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen. Man of the Match could quite easily have been Manuel Neuer, such was the importance of the two saves he made at 1-0 in the second half. However, it’s impossible to ignore the impact 20-year old Jamal Musiala had on the match, netting either side of half-time. The first was a wonderfully clinical finish, the second rounding off a lovely move, but his involvement was far much more than that, regularly driving Bayern forward on a night when his team-mates were far from their best.
CAM: Bernardo Silva (Man City) - 88 OVR -> 89 OVR:
Manchester City had Kevin De Bruyne to thank as the Belgian made an immediate impact off the bench to salvage a 3-2 win over Newcastle United on Saturday. With De Bruyne very likely being included in Team of the Year I instead predict Bernardo Silva to pick up the inform after the Portuguese midfielder scored a sensational backheel goal and nearly added another sweet strike.
RW: Rosemonde Kouassi (Fleury FC) - 80 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Most Women leagues have been paused or in Cup action the past week, a very domestic games have been played and we know EA likes to include them when they can so I'm predicting Kouassi to make it after she scored twice in Fleury's 5-0 win against Dijon.
ST: Olivier Giroud (Milan) - 83 OVR -> 86 OVR:
AC Milan clinched three important points against Roma on Sunday evening and thus bounced back from the Coppa Italia exit. It was a good performance from more or less the entire team but a few stood out. Rght place at the right time. The first goal was an easy finish, it must be said, but the positioning should not be underestimated. And the assist for the third goal was just ridiculous, with a backheel nutmeg. You could argue that he was too quiet otherwise, but the truth is he did his job as a striker.
ST: Edin Džeko (Fenerbahce) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Fenerbahce continued their run in the league and remains 5 points ahead of Galatasaray with one game ahead after their recorded a thumping 7-1 victory against Konyaspor in their midweek fixture. Bosnian attacker Edin Dzeko again proved he's still not done scoring goals as he added another three goals to his tally, sitting at 16 goals in total so far this season.
TOTW 18 Predicted Subs & Reserves
LWB: Jodi Jones (Notts) - 64 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Wrexham's rivals, Notts County, were involved in a 10-goal-thriller as they were pegged back by Grimsby Town in the 95th minute to draw 5-5. Jodi Jones was involved in four goals for his side as he registered 4 assists and should be in the side this week.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur (Spurs) - 82 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Tottenham drew 2-2 with Manchester United in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. Bentancur, who started due to most midfielder being unavailable with injury or international duty, had an early header cleared away from goal by Dalot. Made a crucial tackle in the Spurs box to bail out Van de Ven in the first half before he then equalised for Tottenham as the second half opened with a great run, touch and finish. Looking sharper and sharper with each game.
LW: Bradley Barcola (PSG) - 76 OVR -> 83 OVR:
The Stade Bollaert has often proved a difficult trip for PSG in recent seasons – defeat at Lens’ home ground on New Year’s Day 2023 notably set the tone for a tight run-in last season. This time round Paris Saint-Germain secured a 2-0 victory against Lens on Sunday night during the 18th round of Ligue 1, despite facing a Lensois side reduced to ten players for an entire half. The summer signing continues to redeem himself after an unconvincing start to the campaign, gliding past defenders with ease and opening the score with a well-taken dink past Samba. With Mbappe being in Team of the Toty and Barcola receiving the highest match rating and MOTM he's a no-brainer this week.
LW: Robin Hack (Gladbach) - 72 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Borussia Mönchengladbach picked up a deserved 3-1 victory at home against high-flying Stuttgart and extended their unbeaten run at home to now eight games. Robin Hack scored scored his first two Bundesliga goals for Gladbach which put his side on winning ways and also was named Man of the Match by Kicker.
ST: Tabitha Chawinga (PSG Women) - 81 OVR -> 85 OVR:
The second of two Women players we can potentially see in Team of the Week 18 is Chawinga. PSG recorded a 6-0 last Tuesday against Lille and Chawinga contributed one goal and three assists coming from the bench in the second half.
ST: Joel Pohjanpalo (Venezia) - 74 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Venezia returned to winning ways in the Serie B after two consecutive draws, beating Sampdoria 5-3 in an entertaining game on Sunday. Finnish forward Pohjanpalo should pick up the inform on Wednesday after the forward scored three of the five goals for his side.
ST: Luuk De Jong (PSV) - 79 OVR -> 84 OVR:
PSV Eindhoven began 2024 with another win and continued their impressive run in the Eredivisie, now sitting at 51 points with an absolute perfect record of 17 win out of 1 games. Luuk De Jong raised his tally to 15 goals now after the Dutchman scored all three goals in their 3-1 win over NAC.
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!
Check out the players who made all previous Teams of the Week here.