Following the mourning of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the international break, we’ve now had the first complete set of Premier League matches in almost a full month. The wait was well worth it, though, because we became witnesses of some scintillating performances across the board.
Predicting which EPL players will make the cut for FIFA 23 TOTW 3 is made rather easy by the fact that goals were raining left and right and weren’t always distributed equally. Outstanding individual performances this week include three amazing hat tricks and four more braces.
Among all that goalscoring, we found a way to squeeze in a shout for a defensive entry to the Team of the Week. There were two nil-nil draws, after all.
Will Erling Haaland be in FIFA 23 TOTW 3?
Yes, he should be. EA will find it extremely difficult to limit Erling Haaland’s TOTW presence if he keeps scoring as he has so far. The Norwegian netted another hat trick, this time in the Manchester derby, and cutting him from TOTW 3 would be guaranteed to cause a mini-riot among FUT players.
If Haaland should be in FIFA 23 TOTW 3, Phil Foden absolutely will be in it. Foden doesn’t present the same issues with potentially accumulating way too many In-Form cards, so his own hat trick is almost guaranteed to net him a spot on the Team of the Week.
We feel more or less the same about the final hat trick hero, Leandro Trossard. The Belgian was among the players with the most TOTW inclusions in FIFA 22. TOTW 3 looks like the ideal setting to start a similar tradition in FIFA 23.
It’s amazing that four players scored a brace in the EPL this week and it’s very much possible that none of them make the Team of the Week. Anthony Martial, Roberto Firmino, James Maddison, and Miguel Almirón would typically be strong contenders for a special FUT item, but EA would have to feel very generous to throw so many Premier League players into a single TOTW release.
We can pretty much rule out Martial since he came on as a sub, his team lost badly, and one of his goals came from the penalty spot. The other three all have a shot, but if we were to pick a favorite, it would be Maddison. Leicester City are struggling mightily this season and EA could take this opportunity to give them some recognition in a rare moment of success.
Mind you, we’re not done with the candidates. Leeds United’s goalkeeper Illan Meslier made over half a dozen saves to win his side a point while being a man down vs. Aston Villa for half the match. With so many offensive explosions in the Premier League this week, it’s unlikely that EA chooses a GK to represent the division in FIFA 23 TOTW 3, but Meslier’s performance deserves at least a mention here.
