Hello and welcome to my prediction for Team of the Week 14!
We are entering the winter break this week where most of the big leagues will be on pause except the Premier League so this will be the last Team of the Week with players from other big leagues than the English Premier League. Looking at the past weekend, we saw surprising results such as Le Havre beating Nice but we also saw disappointing games with Man City's late drawing against Crystal Palace. Team of the Week still should be decent with some big names in it so go ahead and check out who could potentially be in this week!
TOTW 14 Predicted Starting XI
GK: Pietro Terracciano (Fiorentina) - 82 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Goalkeepers once again have been far from easy to select with only a couple of options available. Most will probably expect Lopes to get in but I'm instead going to predict a second-inform Terracciano after the Italian shot-stopper made a total of 7 saves, a penalty saves included, to make sure Fiorentina took all three points with a narrow 1-0 over Verona.
CB: Kim Min Jae (Bayern) - 84 OVR -> 86 OVR:
After an embarrassing 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend, Bayern Munich bounced back against VfB Stuttgart who are the surprise team of the Bundesliga this season and recorded a 3-0 win at home. Stuttgart couldn't deal with his aeriel prowess at set pieces. He had the ball in the back of the net twice (one of which counted) and set up another goal before the final whistle had blown.
CB: Raphael Varane (Man Utd.) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
No one dreams about picking up a 0-0 draw, but given what Manchester United have been through lately, Sunday's often dull stalemate against Liverpool felt like a victory. Varane gave a reminder of how good he is at anticipating danger. A top-class performance, the type he has delivered throughout his trophy-laden career.
RWB: Ruben Aguilar (RC Lens) - 76 OVR -> 86* OVR:
The Stade Bollaert-Delelis buzzed with excitement as RC Lens hosted Stade de Reims in a very anticipated Ligue 1 encounter with the game being a milestone for Frankowski, who celebrated his 100th appearance for the club. RC Lens kept all three points at home with a 2-0 victory and Ruben Aguilar assisted the second goal which confirmed the win and also underscored Aguilar's exceptional performance on the right side of the pitch.
CM: Luka Modric (Real Madrid) - 87 OVR -> 88 OVR:
There is simply no stopping England superstar Jude Bellingham in a Real Madrid shirt as the midfielder pounced yet again to score for Carlo Ancelotti's side on Sunday evening in their comfortable victory over Villarreal. The player I predict to pick up the inform tho is Luka Modric. Played a ridiculous pass set up Bellingham's opener and spent most of his time dictating things in the final third. Grabbed a much-deserved goal to round off a masterful and vintage performance.
CAM: Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen) - 85 OVR -> 86 OVR:
Victor Boniface scored and provided an assist as Bayer Leverkusen guaranteed top spot at Christmas with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. With Boniface being in the Champions League RTTK team at the moment Florian Wirtz is the next best option after the German Wonderkid picked up a perfect 1 match rating from Kicker for his goal and assist against Frankfurt.
CAM: Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig) - 80 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Leipzig picked up another three points in their home outing against Hoffenheim, beating their visitors with 3-1. Substitute Emil Forsberg scored one and had a hand in another to help RB Leipzig beat Hoffenheim on his final home game for the club and could get his last inform for Leipzig, he might also get an End of an Era SBC too.
LM: Allan Saint-Maximin (Al-Ahli) - 81 OVR -> 85 OVR:
Saudi League side Al-Ahli recorded another victory and remains third place in the standings, level on points with Al-Taawoun, beating Al-Fayha comfortably with 4-0 midweek. French winger Saint-Maximin, who joined Al-Ahli in the summer, was Man of the Match that day after he recorded a hat-trick of assist.
LM: Nico Williams (A. Bilbao) - 79 OVR -> 86* OVR:
Athletic Bilbao recorded a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday, lifting the Basque side up the LaLiga table to two points from the Champions League spots. Unbeaten at home since losing to Real Madrid in their season opener in August, Athletic dominated proceedings but wasted a golden opportunity early in the first half when Ohian Sancet missed from the penalty spot. Guruzeta opened the scoring right after halftime before Nico Williams then secured all three points with an outstanding strike into the top corner a bit later.
ST: Khadija Shaw (Man City Women) - 86 OVR -> 87 OVR:
Manchester City Women maintained their Women's Super League title push with a comfortable victory over Everton at Walton Hall Park. Shaw, now the WSL's top scorer with nine goals in as many appearances, had an eighth-minute spot-kick saved by Courtney Brosnan after Lauren Hemp was fouled by Sara Holmgaard but still managed to score a hat-trick throughout the game. She got her first inform in TOTW11 but we already saw this year that EA seems to have lowered their gaps for second informs.
ST: Victor Osimhen (Napoli) - 88 OVR -> 89 OVR:
Following damaging defeats to title rivals Inter and Juventus, Napoli got back to winning ways in Serie A with a battling win over struggling Cagliari. Freshly crowned African player of the year, Victor Osimhen showed why he’s considered one of the world’s top strikers on Saturday. Having already scored one goal with a towering header between two defenders, Osimhen was even more impressive when he provided the assist for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s winner when he controlled a pass with his right foot. He used his chest before bouncing the ball three times off his right thigh and onto his head. Appearing to lose control at that point, Osimhen instead muscled his way past three defenders to cross to the unmarked Kvaratskhelia, who pounded the ball in off the near post.
TOTW 14 Predicted Subs & Reserves
ST: Michael Keane (Everton) - 77 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Everton cruised to a fourth consecutive win in the Premier League as they defeated Burnley 2-0 on manager Sean Dyche’s first return to Turf Moor, where he was in charge for nine-and-a-half years. Recalled to face his former club because of Jarrad Branthwaite’s suspension and starting a Premier League game for the first time since Aston Villa, he came back to haunt Burnley by producing a poacher’s finish to double Everton’s lead after his first shot had been blocked seconds earlier while heading and kicking everything that came his way in defence.
ST: Finn Azaz (Plymouth) - 69 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Plymouth Argyle recorded another victory in the Championship, beating Rotherham narrowly with 3-2. Finn Azaz could pick up the inform this week after his stellar perfomance, scoring two and assisting another.
ST: Ismael Saibari (PSV) - 70 OVR -> 83 OVR:
PSV Eindhoven will have a 100% record going into the winter break after they hammered AZ Alkmaar 4-0 in the AFAS Stadion. De Jong scored twice and assisted another but Morrocan winger Saibari was named MOTM and POTW with a huge 8.5 for his goal and assist.
ST: Lucas Paquetá (West Ham) - 81 OVR -> 85 OVR:
A dominant West Ham swept aside Wolves with an emphatic 3-0 victory that if anything was kind to the visitors. The Hammers did not crush their opponents in the stats columns but always looked in control of the game against a toothless and vulnerable side. Lucas Paquetá should pick up his inform on Wednesday after he recorded a hat-trick of assists and was named MOTM.
ST: Joseph Paintsil (KRC Genk) - 75 OVR -> 83 OVR:
I was really struggling to find gold players with more than one goal contributions this week but gladly Genk delivered one in the name of Paintsil who scored twice in their 4-0 victory over Kortrijk.
ST: Emmanuel Sabbi (Le Havre) - 67 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Despite coming into the match at opposite ends of the table, Olympique Lyonnais managed to stun AS Monaco at the Stade Louis-II on Friday evening, thanks to a late goal by Jeffinho. Man of the Match tho was Anthony Lopes after the Portuguese shot-stopper was vital in saving them on a couple occasions, finishing the game with 4 saves and received an 8 match rating from L'Equipe.
ST: Rafa Mujica (Arouca) - 70 OVR -> 83 OVR:
Portuguese side Arouca recorded an important 3-0 victory against Gil Vicente, helping them to escape the relegation zone for now. Match-winner was Spanish forward Mujica who scored all three goals and was named MOTM.
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.
Latest TOTWs