Hello and welcome to our prediction for Team of the Week 8 which will be released on Wednesday this week!
We're heading into the final games before the World Cup starts which will mean no TOTW for the duration of the World Cup! The past weekend had some insane games like the derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, Liverpool's meeting with Tottenham or derby's in Serie A and Ligue 1 and we surely will see a couple of informs coming from these games! Also the MLS Cup was decided in probably one of the best games the MLS ever had, for sure we will see an inform from that game too! But enough said, go on and check out who could be in TOTW8!
STARTING XI
GK: Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt) - 87 OVR -> 88 OVR:
Goalkeepers this week have been rarer as previous weeks which could probably result in one or another surprise for the selection but my starting XI choice is Frankfurts Kevin Trapp who made a total of 5 saves for his side in their narrow 2-1 victory against FC Augsburg. Kicker awarded him with a 1.5 match rating and MOTM.
LB: Jordi Alba (FC Barcelona) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Barcelona picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Almeria in La Liga on Saturday, with Gerard Pique being impressive in his final game. With him most likely receiving an EoE card I'm instead going with Jordi Alba. An excellent performance from the experienced left-back as he bombed forward constantly and linked up well with Ferran Torres. Alba played a big role in the second goal of the game as well. One of his best performances of the season.
CB: Samuel Gigot (Marseille) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Olympique de Marseille got back on winning ways in the Ligue 1 as they defeated Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 at the Orange Velodrome on Sunday. Gigot came into the starting line-up in one oft wo changes to the Marseille side, replacing the injured Bailly. He got the all-important goal before having to come off hurt in the second half.
CB: Gabriel (Arsenal) - 81 OVR -> 84 OVR:
Arsenal secured their third consecutive victory at Stamford bridge as they produced a dominant display in a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. A woeful bit of set-piece defending from Chelsea allowed Gabriel to tap home the opener in what was the crowning moment in an assured display from the centre-back.
RB: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle Utd.) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
High-flyers Newcastle United swatted aside a fizzling Southampton side 4-1 at St. Mary’s on Sunday to extend their unbeaten run to nine Premier League games. The Newcastle captain demonstrated exactly why no one is talking much about England’s right-back dilemma despite the loss of Kyle Walker and Reece James, relying on his imperious form this season. Barring the moment when he left Elyounoussi unmarked at the back-post, he was defensively sound and was at his creative best on the other end, playing an eye-of-the-needle, weighted defence-splitting pass to assist Willock’s goal.
CM: Giacomo Bonaventura (Fiorentina) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
Serie A really isn’t offering much this week in terms of potential informs so we could expect some random inclusions. One who could make it and who actually had a decent game is Bonaventura who scored one goal in Fiorentina’s 2-0 win against Sampdoria and picked up a 7.5 match rating and MOTM.
CAM: Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) - 75 OVR -> 84 OVR*:
Aston Villa recorded their first Premier League win over Manchester United at Villa Park for the first time in 9,941 days, starting the exciting Unai Emery era off to a flyer with a 3-1 triumph. It was a rollercoaster of an afternoon for Ramsey who played on the right-hand side in Emery’s system and it worked a dream as the local hero powered forwards and caused United countless problems. A goal and an assist have been the result of his performance and although he scored an own goal he got named MOTM.
LM: Filip Kostic (Juventus) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
With The Old Lady behind Inter in the Serie A standings heading into the game and hampered by their own inconsistency, three points was a must and a 2-0 victory crucially catapulted them above the hosts and up to fifth. The Serbian was simply the man of the match following a majestic display. Provided two assists on the counters including one that saw him bringing the ball forward with a stunning run. His corner kick delivery was also behind Danilo’s disallowed goal, and he came close to scoring himself with a sublime shot, but was denied by the post.
RM: Moussa Diaby (Leverkusen) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso recorded their biggest win of the season as they blew former Bundesliga leader Union Berlin away with five unanswered goals in a stunning second half. Man oft he match and standout was French winger Moussa Diaby who scored twice and picked up a 1.5 match rating from Kicker.
ST: Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
Marco Rose's RB Leipzig enjoyed an impressive away win at Hoffenheim on Saturday, picking up all three points with a 3-1 victory and ended a run of eight away Bundesliga matches without a win. Nkunku scored two of the goals for his side, surpassing Timo Werner for most goals in a calendar year for his club.
ST: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 91 OVR -> 92 OVR:
Tottenham Hotspur crashed to a 2-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday evening, giving Liverpool their first away win in the Premier League this season. The Egyptian midfielder is in impeccable form right now and he proved to be the difference between both sides. Scored two excellent goals to hand his side all three points.
SUBS & RESERVES
SUBS
GK: Kasper Schmeichel (OGC Nice) - 83 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Goalkeepers are a bit of a guessing game this week with no real standout performances from golds while at the same time silvers have performed extraoordinary good. Schmeichel tho could be the second goalkeeper this week after he made a total of 8 saves in Lille’s 1-0 win against Stade Brest and was included in L'Equipe's TOTW.
CB: David López (Girona FC) - 77 OVR -> 81 OVR:
La Liga offered very little in terms of clear results or standout performances which makes it a bit harder to choose informs. David Lopez should be one of the more likely candidates for an inform this week after he scored and assisted in Girona's narrow 2-1 win against Bilbao.
LM: Youcef Belaili (Stade Brestois 29) - 76 OVR -> 81 OVR:
Ajaccio came back from 2-0 down to win 4-2 on Saturday to defeat Strasbourg for the first time since May 1971. Algerian international Belaili joined Ajaccio after falling out of favour with Brest earlier this season and scored a brace of penalties and also registered an assist to put his side on winning ways.
RW: Marcus Edwards (Sporting CP) - 78 OVR -> 82 OVR:
There are actually two serious options from Liga NOS this week for an inform and one of them could come from Sporting in the name of Marcus Edwards who was subbed on and scored twice and also added an assist in Sporting's 3-0 win against Vitoria de Guimares.
ST: Mauro Icardi (Galatasaray) - 77 OVR -> 81 OVR:
There have been a few players scoring goals this week who recently got some kind of special card in Fifa and therefore might miss out on an inform. One who still should be in due to the size of the game is Mauro Icardii who scored both goals for Galatasaray in their 2-1 win against Besiktas.
ST: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (FC Bayern) - 75 OVR -> 81 OVR:
FC Bayern moved to the top of the Bundesliga with a scrappy 3-2 win over Hertha in Berlin and Union Berlin's loss against Leverkusen on Sunday. Choupo-Moting is currently riding on a seriously hot streak, with seven games in a row with a goal. With two quick-fire goals within 90 seconds here, he has now taken his league tally to five goals and two assists in just four league starts. He wasn't included in Kicker's TOTW due to limited spots but picked up a 1.5 match rating and MOTM.
ST: Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk) - 79 OVR -> 82 OVR:
I don't know how often Genk's Onuachu could have picked up an inform in Fifa 23 and got ignored but this week he's 100% getting one. Genk recorded another victory, this time they beat Sporting Charleroi with 4-1 and the Nigerian forward scored all four goals for his side.
RESERVES
GK: John McCarthy (LAFC) - 64 OVR -> 74 OVR:
LAFC won their first-ever MLS Cup in what could go down as the most entertaining match in MLS playoff history. Down a man and conceding a go-ahead goal in the 124th minuten, Gareth Bale silenced the doubters with a dramatic equalizer in the 128th minute. McCarty came on in the 118th minute, made an other-worldly initial save to deny Carranze from point-blank range and made two saves in the shootout against his former team. Was voted MVP of the final!
RW: Romulo (Chengdu) - 67 OVR -> 76 OVR:
We had a few players with three or even four goals the past weekend so there might be someone with three goals who won't make it, I'm still predicting Romulo to pick up the inform after he scored three times in his side's 6-0 trashing against Hebei.
ST: Oli McBurnie (Sheffield Utd.) - 70 OVR -> 78 OVR:
There haven't been enough silvers with hat-tricks the past week which leaves more room for others and one who could get in is Sheffield's Oli McBurnie who scored twice and assisted another in his side's 5-2 victory over Burnley.
ST: Billy Waters (Barrow) - 60 OVR -> 70 OVR:
Another midweek performance which could produce an inform could come from Barrow. Billy Waters scored all three goals in his side's 3-1 victory over Colchester and could be in the side this week.
ST: Vladislavs Gutkovskis (Rakow) - 67 -> 76 OVR:
Another player who scored four goals the past weekend came from the Polish Ekstraklasa in the name of Gutkovskis. Rakow recorded a thumping 7-1 victory over Wisla Plock and the Latvian forward scored four of the goals.
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!