20 Players We Expect To Get FUT Upgrades For FIFA 20

As FIFA 19 draws to a close and the start of the 2019/20 season is underway, there are ample players who deserve an upgrade for FIFA 20 Ultimate Team.

Whether it be an emerging star full of potential at a young age or an outstanding performer at the top level, there are multiple ratings that will need boosting once FIFA 20 is released on September 27 this year.

Liverpool dominated the European scene in the 2018/19 campaign while Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City completed the domestic treble – both will be expecting to see player upgrades within their ranks.

Most raw, English talent establish themselves in the Premier League to kick-start their career, while others like Jadon Sancho take a different route and move abroad for game time.

But who impressed the most? Here are 20 players you can expect to see gain an upgrade for their FIFA 20 Ultimate Team rating…

David Brooks – Bournemouth

Brooks established himself as a stand-out performer on the south-coast last season and you can certainly expect to see his rating rocket up in FIFA 20.

Rated 69 at the beginning of the 2018/19 campaign, the 22-year-old scored seven goals and registered five assists in the Premier League and there is no doubt that he will be a gold on FUT next time around.

Nicolas Pepe – Arsenal

Arsenal’s club-record signing this summer was rated 75 last season but an outstanding campaign in Ligue 1 will give the Premier League debutant a boost for FUT 20.

The Ivory Coast winger netted 22 times and chipped in with 11 assists for Lille in the 2018/19 campaign and we can expect to see him rated in the mid-80s this season.

Ben Chilwell – Leicester City

Leicester City are slowly developing into an established top-10 side and the emergence of Chilwell has been a contributing factor.

The England left-back impressed several pundits and football fans last season which should give him the boost required to be an 80-rated player in FUT 20.

Luka Jovic – Real Madrid

The 21-year-old got his dream move to Real Madrid this summer after an exceptional campaign in the Bundesliga – scoring 17 goals and registering five assists for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Jovic captured the eye of many European clubs last season and a move to the Spanish giants will elevate his rating to mid-80s.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool

The England full-back was part of the Liverpool side that lost just one Premier League match last season and was an essential figure in their Champions League winning campaign.

The 20-year-old was rated 78 at the beginning of FIFA 19 and he will be a cert to receive an upgrade.

Declan Rice – West Ham United

The England international started the season as a centre-back and was considered Irish; a development into West Ham’s defensive-midfield role, however, elevated his career and Rice chose to represent England for national duties.

The 20-year-old was an outstanding performer in east London and could bounce from a 69-rated FUT card to an 80-rated player in FIFA 20.

Kylian Mbappe – PSG

Mbappe made 29 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG last season – achieving a staggering record of 33 goals and seven assists.

The 20-year-old is considered as one of the hottest talents in world football and although he already occupies an excellent rating, it would not be surprising to see that elevate into the 90s.

Krzysztof Piatek – AC Milan

Piatek was on fire in the first half of the 2018/19 campaign, netting 13 times in 19 appearances for Serie A side Genoa.

However, he switched over to AC Milan in January and scored a further nine league goals, taking his total to 22 for the campaign. There is no chance he will be a silver again, that’s for sure.

Heung-Min Son – Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs’ clinical finisher was an exceptional performer for the north London club last season and 84 does not do his quality enough justice.

Son was an influential figure for Mauricio Pochettino and his rating is sure to increase for FUT 20.

Virgil Van Dijk – Liverpool

The colossal centre-back performed to an outstanding level last season and he is currently favourite to be crowned the 2019 Ballon d’Or winner.

Van Dijk steadied the ship at the back for Liverpool and helped achieve 97 points in the Premier League coinciding with a Champions League triumph. The best defender in the world will certainly be higher than 85 this time around…

Leeds fans impressed with Adam Forshaw after improvement is made

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Leeds fans have seemingly turned the corner with Adam Forshaw since the start of the season.

Going into the new term he was criticised by certain segments of the Elland Road faithful but it appears as though he’s earned back the faith of their support following his performances in 2019/20.

The Whites won 2-0 against Wigan at the weekend and Forshaw caught the eye, finding himself unlucky not to score after firing just wide in the second half, as well as hitting the woodwork.

His performance impressed some fans so much that they were left wondering why they ever questioned Marcelo Bielsa, suggesting he should have previously been ousted for Helder Costa.

One individual was delighted with his ability to press the ball whilst another lauded his ability going forward. A further supporter was delighted with how settled he now looked in his position.

The 27-year-old has started the term playing next to Mateusz Klich behind Patrick Bamford in midfield and has clearly pleased those who watch him on a weekly basis.

Forshaw appeared calm in midfield, completing 89% of his passes during their victory over the Latics.

Here’s the best of the discussion.

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Man United predicted XI: Solskjaer should bring in Pereira for Crystal Palace clash

Manchester United left Molineux on Monday night disappointed, as Paul Pogba’s missed penalty prevented the Red Devils from maintaining their 100% record, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be confident his side can restore the form they showed on the opening day.

Ultimately, it has been a positive start for Solskjaer who has already managed to get the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial firing, whilst his defence has kept things tight, conceding just one goal from their opening two Premier League fixtures.

Indeed, after a rather frustrating night last time out, how will the Norwegian set up his side this Saturday?

Aaron Wan-Bissaka could be set to face his old side for the first time, and the former Crystal Palace man has made a strong start this season, leading the way for tackles (as per WhoScored) at Old Trafford. Elsewhere in defence, the world’s most expensive defender, Harry Maguire, will surely continue to grow his partnership with Victor Lindelof, one praised by the Telegraph’s James Ducker.

In midfield, despite his penalty miss, Paul Pogba has been pulling the strings for United, producing two assists in his opening two Premier League appearances, so he should keep his place alongside Scott McTominay.

Perhaps the only change from Solskjaer will come in the no.10 spot, with Jesse Lingard only receiving a 5/10 (as per Manchester Evening News) for his performance against Wolves last time out. As a result, Andreas Pereira could come in to change things up after producing an assist on the opening day of the season.

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial practically pick themselves these days because of their goals and the departure of Romelu Lukaku, whilst Gary Neville has stated that Daniel James will strike fear into the opposition after his opening couple of performances, so Solskjaer should opt to go with the Welshman and his fear factor.

Real Madrid have to start Vinicius Junior on the left against Villarreal this weekend

Not many coaches would want to be in Zinedine Zidane’s shoes right about now. Sure, being at the helm of one of the biggest teams on the planet sounds like a lot of fun but the Frenchman would probably pull out all of his hair at the moment, if he had any left, that is.

Judging by how their pre-season went and how they ended their 2018/19 campaign with defeat after defeat, it was easy to predict the same trends would continue in 2019/20. But they didn’t so far. Or they kind of didn’t, at the very least.

A win and a draw in the first two games is hardly the end of the world but seeing how every new day seems to bring new injuries to Los Blancos, if they continue like this they just might field their Castilla team come the latter stages of the season. And this is what most likely worries Zidane the most.

With six players already out for a while, it’s fair to say that he is very much right to be at least a tiny bit concerned about the whole situation. And to make matters even worse, or better, depending on how you look at it, most of the injured players are actually left-wingers on paper.

This means that Real Madrid will be short on wide players but it also means that they mostly have to worry about how to compensate for the absence of options in just one single area. Besides, not every left-winger in the squad is out injured.

As a matter of fact, Zidane has one more option that he should definitely keep in mind for this weekend’s clash and that’s his young Brazilian talisman, Vinicius Junior. With so many players out of commission for this game on the weekend, the wisest thing for Zidane would be not to tamper and experiment too much or the Galacticos might drop points once again.

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But it seems that going with Vinicius doesn’t seem like the best course of action for everyone at the capital. The youngster had a chance to impress in the last game against Real Valladolid but ended up just slipping under the radar.

He started off the bench and was only introduced in the second half but he failed to make an impression or make any palpable contribution to the result. Soon after that and after this summer’s newcomer Luka Jović was introduced, Vinicius was actually shifted to the opposite side, to the right-wing. And this is when things started going all the way down.

Right from the bat, it was visible the youngster wasn’t really comfortable on the side opposite to his natural position so his performance went mostly unnoticed or rather, noticed for all the wrong things. But if Zidane is going to take one thing from that game then it definitely should not be Vinicius’ “bad performance”.

In fact, he should learn from that mistake of slotting the youngsters into uncharted territory on the right and stick him where he belongs – on the left where he is comfortable and where he knows he’ll make an impact.

It is true that he doesn’t have many options down that flank but that’s even more reason not to put his only viable one out of position. That would most likely be shooting his own foot in the process.

Real Madrid had all sorts of problems in that second fixture of the new campaign but one that is still plaguing them even from last season is their lethality in front of goal or rather, a player who can decide the whole match with his contribution. When he was fit and when he was deployed on that left side, Vinicius was their spark that added pace, skills, constant danger and most important of all, plenty of goals.

His three goals and 12 assists across all competitions in 2018/19 can attest to that as well. The difference between that Vinicius and the one we saw against Valladolid is quite a big one and the funny thing is, most of that comes down to the positioning on the pitch.

It seems like such a trivial thing and yet it’s something that just might make or break Zidane’s next game. It’s not a particularly easy opponent either. Villarreal away from home would sound scary to anyone, let alone to a team that’s still trying to find its groove in the new campaign or even just in general.

Of course, at the moment it does seem like the French coach has a lot to think about in the preparation for the game against the Yellow Submarine but sorting that left-wing should definitely be up there around the very top of the list.

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Real Madrid’s young loanee Takefusa Kubo can help start club’s rebirth

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Real Madrid sent shockwaves through the footballing world when they signed the young Takefusa Kubo this summer.

Of course, big clubs like Los Blancos often snatch up the very best prospects on the planet but this 18-year-old was very much a special prize for Florentino Perez and his squad.

Kubo spent some of his youth years at Barcelona’s academy but had to move back to his homeland in Japan in 2015. No one could expect that this young star could make a big switch to Real Madrid. But he did and now he’s defending Los Blancos’ colours instead of the Blaugrana.

Real Madrid have decided, however, that it would be for the best if he joined another La Liga team on loan and gained some experience before going back to the capital once again. Kubo was shipped off to Mallorca, where he soon made his debut against Valencia in an unfortunate 2-0 defeat.

But he didn’t stop there. Just the other day, the 18-year-old Japanese sensation featured for his national team in the World Cup qualifier match, making another big appearance on a huge footballing stage.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

By the looks of it, the youngster is slowly but surely gaining experience, skill and reputation to one day become a true Galactico for Real Madrid.

There’s been a lot of talk about a potential Real Madrid revolution and how they need big stars and costly players to join in order to kick-start it but Los Blancos might already have all they need in Kubo, they just have to put some faith and effort into him.

In 13 games in the Japanese top-flight in 2018/19, the youngster scored and assisted four goals while adding one more in the domestic Cup. At such a young age, he has already won six caps for the Japan national team and has now become the youngest player in the national team to play in a match in the Asian World Cup qualifiers at the age of just 18 years and 98 days.

Sending him on loan was the right choice if he was not going to get any valuable and meaningful minutes in the first-team of Real Madrid and once that spell comes to an end, he will be ready to slot into the squad almost certainly.

Even now, looking at his recent performances, Kubo was a joy to watch. Granted, it was in games where his game time was limited and he couldn’t show everything he’s capable of. But we are already aware of his skills and that is just the beginning.

He was supposed to be the “Japanese Messi”, and he just might still be, only this Messi will be donning White colours rather than the famous red and blue.

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Is Aston Villa’s John McGinn forever fated to be underrated?

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It was no surprise that rumours began to circulate in the summer that Manchester United were plotting a £50m bid for Aston Villa’s box-to-box midfielder John McGinn.

A pivotal figure in Villa’s promotion charge McGinn scored six goals, provided ten assists and highly impressed with his endless endeavour and crisp, neat passes.

By the season’s end he had won the club’s Player of the Year award and the fans’ vote too, both attained ahead of team-mate Jack Grealish, a player who was and is generally viewed as being vital to the Villans’ prosperity on the pitch.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It is debatable whether United fans would have been pleased to see the whispers translate into a genuine transfer but regardless the Stretford End faithful may well be feeling regretful in the early stages of the campaign.

The 17-time capped Scotland international scored a blinding goal as Villa worried Spurs on the opening day this term and fans of the Manchester giants made their feelings known on social media. They missed out and they knew it.

Returning to the summer Villa fans were aghast at the notion of their prized star leaving for such a figure – to them he may well be considered priceless – but it was the reaction of the media that most intrigued, best illustrated by the tweet below.

‘Shock’. ‘Surprise’. This for a link between a club that finished sixth last season in the Premier League and in dire need of an overhaul and a player who was consistently and devastatingly effective in his first year in England.

In the year that preceded his arrival he was so consistently and devastatingly effective in Scotland that his manager at the time Neil Lennon deemed him ‘one of the best Hibs players in the past 30 years’.

With the player himself admitting that ‘some people had the perception I’m just a runner’ it was becoming clear that a splintering of judgement had occurred along the way for McGinn; a common enough development for any talent who has risen via a not altogether glamorous route.

Those who were invested in McGinn – Hibs supporters, Villans, United fans researching a perspective new signing, his managers – valued him significantly. The rest, less so, bar an acknowledgement of his undeniable ability.

Find out which 33-year-old could help keep Aston Villa in the Premier league this season in the video below…

All of that though is about to change, or more accurately a true reading of the midfielder’s brilliance is already underway.

His productive performance against Spurs saw Jamie Redknapp compare McGinn to Rafael van der Vaart. “A special mention has to go to Aston Villa’s John McGinn, or ‘McGinniesta’ as some call him,” the pundit later wrote in his Daily Mail column: “No disrespect to Tottenham’s record signing Tanguy Ndombele, who scored a wonderful goal, but McGinn looked like the £55m midfielder on the pitch at times.”

The Telegraph, meanwhile, recently stated he was ‘magic’ and that he ‘practically glows on the pitch’. As for data over opinion WhoScored had the Scottish international in their August Premier League Best XI.

Full of endeavour and invention, McGinn is expected to enjoy a tremendous season in the top flight.

By the end of it perhaps everyone will finally realise this is the norm; this is what he does.

Crystal Palace’s Mamadou Sakho & James Tomkins partnership could be coming to an end

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Before you’ve even started reading this article, it would be easy to guess what you’re thinking.

How on earth could Roy Hodgson possibly be forced to break Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins apart?

The duo helped Crystal Palace keep the sixth-best clean sheet record in the Premier League last season, combining steely defensive work with a calmness on the ball to come out of the 38-game campaign with 12 clean sheets under their belts – averaging a shutout every 3.7 games, which isn’t bad at all.

As per The Athletic, Sakho and Tomkins have played 37 games alongside each other since the Frenchman’s debut in February 2017, recording an impressive 45.9% win ratio while also conceding an average of just 1.1 goals per game.

The balance of the pair is also near perfect. Sakho combines physical strength with excellent composure and passing ability – he is also left-footed, which compliments Tomkins, a right-footed player, on the other side of him.

In the former West Ham man’s case, he is far more no-nonsense than the former Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain defender – some Palace fans may remember Sakho back-heeling the ball inside his own box in the dying minutes of a 2-1 win over Chelsea a few years ago.

So, that prompts the aforementioned question: how could Hodgson break the pair up?

Well, one man’s presence may be the trigger of such a bold move: Gary Cahill.

Having arrived on a free transfer following his departure from Chelsea, the 61-cap England international has been in imperious form since making his Crystal Palace debut.

Cahill made his Eagles bow at Old Trafford against Manchester United – not exactly a simple game to make your debut in.

However, the 33-year-old used all of his experience and know-how to marshal the south Londoners to a historic 2-1 win over the Red Devils, Palace’s first-ever Premier League victory over United.

Cahill made Garth Crooks’ Team of the Week as a result of his performance against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, and the Eagles supporters on Twitter were also extremely impressed with him after that win – additionally, the 33-year-old made The Mirror’s Team of the Week for his second Palace appearance against Aston Villa.

There is no denying the centre-back’s pedigree.

As much as the Selhurst Park faithful adore Tomkins and rate him, Cahill’s trophy cabinet speaks for itself: 2 x Premier League, 2 x FA Cup, 1 x League Cup, 1 x Champions League, 2 x Europa League.

Cahill has also captained the England national team under Hodgson’s tutelage, while he has made the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions.

Tomkins and Cahill are simply incomparable in terms of career achievements and despite the Palace No.5 performing admirably since arriving from London rivals West Ham, it would be utterly foolish to drop Cahill.

At 33 years of age and on a two-year contract, it would be wasteful of Hodgson to remove Cahill from the XI when the former Bolton man is in the twilight of his career. He’s clearly been brought to the club with a purpose.

Palace should be doing their utmost to include Cahill at every given opportunity, and seeing as Sakho is the only left-footed centre-back at the club, Tomkins looks like the man to move aside.

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Potential superstars and flops: How good are the talents in Barcelona B?

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Barcelona’s world-famous La Masia is one of the most successful footballing academies on the planet.

After all, it’s the same academy that once housed and groomed the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and many more who ended up becoming some of the greatest players this sport has ever seen.

But as much as the Blaugrana love to look back at those golden years, they are exactly that – in the past. And nowadays, La Masia doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it used to get back in the day.

Superstars like the aforementioned Barcelona legends are very much the exception and not the rule. A golden generation is golden by virtue of its infrequency.

But that doesn’t mean there are no talents in La Masia anymore. Quite the contrary in fact. The Barcelona B side alone is stacked full of potential and quality.

With that in mind, let’s assess each of these players and see how likely they are to make it in the future. From the goalkeepers to the forwards, here’s the full list of Barcelona B players according to their talent.

Let’s check it out…

[snack_break title=”Unlikely to make it”]

Ferran Sarsanedas – Barcelona B is full of talented midfielders and Sarsanedas is unlikely to get ahead of practically any of them. Unfortunately, He won’t light up the stage any time soon.

Sergi Puig – Probably the worst of the three goalkeepers. Too shaky, unreliable and quite average.

Dani Morer – Behind Jaime in the pecking order and while good enough for the Segunda Division B, still far away from stardom.

Mike van Beijnen – The son of Frenkie de Jong’s agent who was probably just bought to make the transfer go through more smoothly. Not likely to get much game time at all.

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Lazar Carevic – With the likes of Inaki Pena in front of him, Carevic doesn’t really look likely to make it. Serious work would be required for him to even be considered for a potential step-up.

Chumi – Currently looking likely to be the third-choice centre-back in the team. Although not bad, Chumi would first have to warrant his position at Barcelona B before even thinking about anything more.

Guillem Jaime – Looking like the first-choice right-back but still a big downgrade on Moussa Wague, who’s now with the first-team. Jaime has some quality, but at the moment, it doesn’t seem like enough.

Oscar Mingueza – Similarly to Chumi’s position and even slightly worse. Mingueza doesn’t look like a future star.

Kike Saverio – A left-winger who is likely to be left behind due to the arrival of Hiroki Abe who looks more far promising.

Sergio Akieme – A newcomer to Barcelona B, it is difficult to judge whether he has what it takes since he has only played one game for his new team. But so far he hasn’t really impressed enough to warrant a higher placing.

[snack_break title=”In with a chance”]

Ronald Araujo – Alongside Jorge Cuenca, he is Barcelona B’s best centre-back but still needs to put a lot of work in to progress into the first-team. Currently, he looks to be second in the pecking-order so there’s still plenty to do.

Ludovit Reis – Can be hot and cold but he looks really talented and once he fully adapts to Barcelona B and Segunda Division B, he should be impressing more regularly.

Monchu – Showing promising signs but the competition around the middle of the pitch is quite tough and he might get left behind despite his talent and visible qualities.

Hiroki Abe – One of the the club’s newest signings, Abe arrives with huge potential and a big reputation. The 20-year-old looks like he could be one for the future, but we’ll still have to see more of him in order to say that with absolute certainty.

Alejandro Marques – Currently looks set to be behind Ruiz up front, but Marques is a target-man that can still bring a lot to the table by keeping opposition defenders busy at all times and producing goals. There is a chance for him to succeed, but at the moment, it’s still quite slim.

[snack_break title=”On the first-team path”]

Jorge Cuenca – Definitely the best centre-back Barcelona B have to offer. As it currently stands, Cuenca is a player who looks likely to eventually make that step-up as he’s already tasted the action of the senior team once.

Alex Collado – Has been shifted across midfield and the front line, but Collado is definitely a talent worth keeping an eye on. Currently, he’s among the top performers in the team and has a big role to play. If his development continues, he could even make that big step-up in the not-so-distant future.

Carles Perez – Already looks set to become a first-teamer sooner rather than later. Perez has not only played a couple of games with the seniors but has also scored once and assisted two goals as well.

Abel Ruiz – An incredible talent that is waiting to explode. Although he’s definitely on the right path, his mentality will likely determine how far he can go. Even with that being said, there’s a general feeling that Ruiz will definitely end up in the top tier, one way or the other.

Jandro Orellana – Has all the qualities to become an incredible defensive-midfielder and definitely one of the best talents in that area since Oriol Busquets. Has a real shot to make it.

Inaki Pena – Pena is Barcelona B’s best goalkeeper and has already had spells with the seniors in which he has looked impressive. The young goalie is incredibly talented and good with both his hands and his feet, which is a must for any Barcelona team regardless of the level.

[snack_break title=”Potential superstars”]

Riqui Puig – Definitely the greatest talent currently playing for Barcelona B. Puig is very much the future and many are wondering why he is still with the B team when he’s clearly good enough for the seniors. Only the sky is the limit for Puig.

Honourable mention: Anssumane Fati – Fati is technically not a Barcelona B player since he’s still just 16 years old, but he’s the crown jewel of La Masia and already a record-breaker at Barcelona.

The world hasn’t heard the last of Fati and this is very much just the beginning of something extraordinary.

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Liverpool’s Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum name the GOAT CL comeback

Liverpool have to be considered one of the most dramatic teams in the world to follow.

Never is this more true than when the Reds are playing European football.

The Merseyside outfit are famed for their incredible European performances, and there have been some fantastic displays from Liverpool in the Champions League.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Undoubtedly two of their greatest performances came in the 2005 final and the 2019 semi-final second leg.

The miracle of Istanbul is well documented as the Reds came back from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties and lift the continent’s most prestigious trophy.

The semi-final against Barcelona is more recent, but it certainly rivals that night in Istanbul.

Choosing between those two games is almost impossible for any Liverpool fan, but Georginio Wijnaldum and Divock Origi had the task of naming the greatest Champions League comeback ever.

The two stars had to list the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history, and they had a number of games to choose from.

Despite being able to pick from games such as Barcelona’s 6-1 win against PSG and the 1999 final, they whittled it down to the two aforementioned Liverpool performances.

It was tough for them to decide, but in the end they paid homage to the legends from 2005 and decided that the Istanbul encounter eclipses their second-leg comeback last season.

West Brom’s game against Cardiff may boil down to Matheus Pereira

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

West Brom’s impressive start to life under Slaven Bilic finally came to an end in midweek as Leeds United defeated them 1-0 at Elland Road.

It meant that a run of nine straight games without defeat was halted, so they’ll be looking to get back on track as they welcome Cardiff City to the Hawthorns on Saturday.

The Bluebirds are on an excellent run themselves as they head into the match having not lost in seven straight games.

Therefore, by no means are the Baggies in for an easy test as they look to get back on track, so where could the game be won or lost this weekend?

On the Chalkboard

One of Cardiff’s best players this term has been summer arrival Marlon Pack, who has become a backbone in Neil Warnock’s side. That’s coincided with their unbeaten streak.

He faced some time out through injury, but he has come back into the side and played the full 90 minutes in back-to-back games, culminating in his best performance of the season on Tuesday night as the Welsh side emphatically defeated Queens Park Rangers 3-0.

The 28-year-old scored one of the three goals, made one tackle, and won four aerial duels as he picked up a season-high WhoScored rating of 8.21.

His opposite number this weekend will be Albion’s new creative number ten, Matheus Pereira.

The young winger is quite the enigmatic figure, but he’s been influential to Slaven Bilic this season, having scored one goal and provided three assists.

He’s a completely different player to that of Pack as he averages 1.3 dribbles and 2.4 key passes per game.

By contrast, the former Bristol City ace plays as many as 5.5 long balls per game and does more defensive work, recording 1.3 clearances and interceptions per match.

This weekend’s game could really be won or lost depending on how Pereira plays.

If he is utilised centrally as he has been since making his first full start against Blackburn Rovers at the end of August, it could well work out in Bilic’s favour.

This time they’ll need him firing on all cylinders after failing to score or assist against Leeds. His threat was nullified that time out so Pereira will have to bounce back.

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