Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images

FIFA 18 Ultimate Team: Paulo Dybala, Marcus Rashford, Serge Aurier Lead TOTW 26

Tom Sunderland

FIFA 18 Ultimate Team players in search of a new attacker will like the looks of Team of the Week 26 after Paulo Dybala, Marcus Rashford and Michy Batshuayi each earned new in-form boosts in the latest lineup.

Juventus forward Dybala leads the charge with a new 92-rated, left-wing in-form, having followed up match-winning displays against Lazio and Tottenham Hotspur with a brace against Udinese on Sunday.  

Rashford enjoyed near-identical success when he netted twice in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Liverpool on Saturday, and Michy Batshuayi ended a five-match barren run with two goals in Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

In midfield, Paris Saint-Germain maestro Marco Verratti gets a new 89-rated card after recording two assists in their 5-0 demolition of Metz, and Franck Ribery gets his first TOTW in-form of the season.

Tottenham's Serge Aurier makes TOTW 26 after he scored and assisted in Spurs' 4-1 victory at Bournemouth, while a newly boosted Jonathan Tah and Milan Skriniar also feature in defence.

EA Sports FIFA released the lineup in full on Wednesday, when cards will become available in packs for one week from 6 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET:

        

Paulo Dybala

A third in-form of the season also yields another positional change for Dybala, who this time moves to the left wing, where he dazzled in a tide-turning display for Juve in their 2-0 win over Udinese on Sunday.

Dybala's most recent in-form, awarded prior to his recent injury absence in TOTW 16, boasted free-kick accuracy of 87, but BT Sport showed how Sunday's opening strike hinted the Argentinian deserves better:

In fact, considering he plays in the same team as Bosnian dead-ball maestro Miralem Pjanic, Dybala is starting to illustrate his powers as a cut above the rest, per OptaPaolo:

His transition to the left wing would be more accommodating if Dybala had better than a three-star weak-foot rating, but with base-stat 94 dribbling, 92 shooting, 89 pace and 89 passing, there aren't many likely to complain about his latest upgrade.

Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli, Ivan Perisic of Inter Milan and Juve's Alex Sandro all offered capable options for Serie A managers on the left flank previously, but Dybala's new makeover sets a new bar in that sector.

       

Marcus Rashford

Rashford and his United team-mates will still be smarting from their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Sevilla on Tuesday, but Ultimate Team hasn't yet forgotten the youngster's match-winning contribution against Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Red Devils product chopped on to his right for a superb breakthrough strike at Old Trafford before following up with a curling second, and manager Jose Mourinho was left in awe of Rashford's display, via Goal:

The 20-year-old took full advantage of his first Premier League start of 2018 and is rewarded with a first in-form of the campaign, boosted to 84 from 81 overall, which is good news for those who own his Path to Glory card.

And EA paid particular attention to the accuracy of Rashford's efforts on goal against Liverpool, raising his base shooting to 85 from 78—that seven-point jump comes after he was already improved in the winter upgrades.

Rashford's already intimidating base pace rating of 92 has also been increased to 94, while his new 79 passing and 86 dribbling come as a result of five and four-point improvements, respectively.

      

Serge Aurier

Another new Premier League-based card players will want to watch out for is Spurs right-back Aurier, already considered to be a somewhat overpowered card in his base form.

But a goal and an assist at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday see the Ivory Coast international take his place in TOTW 26, even if his performance did comprise its share of errors, too, per ESPN FC's Ben Pearce:

A first in-form of the season will also relieve those who invested in Aurier's Ones to Watch cards, with significant improvements made in almost all areas with his newest release.

Aurier's 84-rated card now boasts 83 base defending—a five-point improvement on his base card—and a three-point boost in physicality, which now sits at an impressive 87.

Those looking to bomb forward with their full-backs will be sure to make use of Aurier's newfound 87 pace. Five and four-point upgrades to his passing and dribbling raise them to 78 and 81, respectively, making for a much less susceptible option as part of a Premier League-inspired defence.

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)