FIFA 17 Ultimate Team: Arturo Vidal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Ahmed Musa Lead TOTW 38
Team of the Week 38 will include impressive new in-form cards for the likes of Arturo Vidal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ahmed Musa on Wednesday thanks to their international exploits when the latest upgrades for FIFA 17's Ultimate Team are released.
All three bagged braces as Vidal's Chile beat Burkina Faso 3-0 in an international friendly, Nigeria defeated Togo by the same scoreline thanks to Musa, and Mkhitaryan helped Armenia sink St. Kitts and Nevis 5-0.
Olivier Giroud will also feature thanks to a hat-trick of his own for France in their 5-0 thrashing of Paraguay.
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EA Sports announced the 18-man lineup on Wednesday:
Here's a closer look at the lineup:
Starting XI
Position: GK Bill Hamid, DC United, USA. Rating: 81
Position: CB Renato Civelli, Banfield, Argentina. Rating: 82
Position: CB Kendall Waston, Vancouver Whitecaps, Costa Rica. Rating: 74
Position: CB Maxime Chanot, New York City, Luxembourg. Rating: 74
Position: CM Arturo Vidal, Bayern Munich, Chile. Rating: 90
Position: CM Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Manchester United, Armenia. Rating: 89
Position: CM Joao Moutinho, AS Monaco, Portugal. Rating: 85
Position: CAM Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers, Argentina. Rating: 82
Position: ST Olivier Giroud, Arsenal, France. Rating: 86
Position: RW Ahmed Musa, Leicester City, Nigeria. Rating: 82
Position: ST Sardar Azmoun, FC Rostov, Iran. Rating: 81
Substitutes
Position: GK Gokhan Akkan, Caykur Rizespor, Turkey. Rating: 72
Position: RM Sinan Gumus, Galatasaray, Turkey. Rating: 74
Position: RM Michael Barrios, FC Dallas, Colombia. Rating: 74
Position: CDM Rafal Murawski, Pogon Szczecin, Poland. Rating: 74
Position: RM Chuli, Getafe, Spain. Rating: 72
Position: ST Saman Ghoddos, Ostersunds, Sweden. Rating: 81
Position: ST Kengo Kawamata, Jubilo Iwata, Japan. Rating: 64
Arturo Vidal, Chile
Bayern Munich midfielder Vidal was the star for La Roja as they dispatched Burkina Faso with consummate ease on Friday.
A lovely first-time finish into the bottom corner broke the deadlock after 10 minutes, and he doubled the lead in the second half through the goalkeeper's legs after controlling a ball over the top from Cesar Pinares.
The 30-year-old has received a 90-rated card for his troubles, and with his incredible base stats, he is among the best all-rounders in the game.
Every attribute is in the elite bracket of 90 or above, with the sole exception of pace, which has reached the respectable, if unspectacular, 80 mark.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenia
Mkhitaryan opened his account against St. Kitts and Nevis with a surging run into the box and a cool chip over the goalkeeper after playing a one-two with Ruslan Koryan.
He came close to a second eight minutes later, per Caribbean Football Weekly's Nathan Carr:
The Manchester United star tapped in his second from close range shortly after.
Mkhitaryan makes for a pacier alternative to Vidal in midfield, with his 89-rated card boasting an 87 base pace stat. His physical stat is the same, while his finishing is 89 and passing and dribbling are better still at 92 and 93, respectively.
The pair might have little in the way of chemistry now that Mkhitaryan no longer plays in the Bundesliga, but he and Vidal could otherwise make for a fine partnership in midfield given their respective skills.
Ahmed Musa, Nigeria
Musa got Nigeria off to the perfect start when he tapped home in the third minute after Alex Iwobi's cross was dropped at his feet by the Togo goalkeeper, and the Arsenal man assisted him again 16 minutes later.
The Leicester City forward's electric pace makes his regular 78-rated version difficult enough to deal with, but his 82-rated incarnation is even quicker, with 95 pace up from 93.
More importantly, his shooting, passing and physical stats have all significantly improved.
The latter two are still only 71 and 61, respectively, but for many players, a forward's two most important attributes are his speed and his ability to score. With 82 shooting, Ahmed is far from the most deadly finisher in the game, but he can certainly do a job and cause defences a lot of problems.
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