FIFA 21: Team of the Week 26 predictions

Barcelona‘s Lionel Messi could headline a bumper FIFA 21 Team of the Week 26 after another impressive all-round display this weekend.

The Argentinian scored twice and assisted another in Barca’s 6-1 victory over Real Sociedad.

Messi was unfortunate to miss out last week, having produced the same return in his side’s defeat of Huesca, but he could get the nod this time around.

If he doesn’t, teammate Serginho Dest could be included. He scored twice during the Sociedad win.

Here’s a look at who else could be included in TOTW 26:

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

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Karim Benzema somewhat surprisingly missed out on last week’s TOTW despite scoring twice against Elche.

The Frenchman was in top form again during Real Madrid‘s 3-1 victory at Celta Vigo on Saturday. Benzema scored a brace in the first half, before assisting Marco Asensio’s 94th minute goal.

The 33-year-old now has 17 LaLiga goals for the season.

Dries Mertens (Napoli)

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An in-game favourite, Dries Mertens could receive another stats boost after an impressive performance for Napoli.

The Belgian kept his side’s Champions League hopes well and truly alive with a brace in a 2-0 victory at fellow challengers AS Roma.

Leandro Trossard (Brighton)

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Leandro Trossard played a vital role in Brighton’s 3-0 victory over Newcastle on Saturday evening. The win moves the Seagulls six points clear of the Premier League bottom three.

The Belgian scored in first half stoppage time to give his side the lead, before assisting Danny Welbeck early in the second half.

Trossard was adjudged as WhoScored’s star man after recording a rating of 8.7.

Stefan Lainer (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

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With Monchengladbach still pushing for one of the last European spots in the Bundesliga, Saturday’s 3-0 victory at bottom club Schalke was an important one.

Central to that triumph was defender Stefan Lainer. The right-back scored his side’s second goal and received an 8.0 WhoScored rating, as well as the star man award.

Ruslan Malinovskiy (Atalanta)

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Ruslan Malinovskiy scored Atalanta’s opener from the penalty spot in their 2-0 victory at Verona, and later assisted Duvan Zapata’s second-half goal. He received a 9.6 WhoScored rating for his impressive performance.

The spot kick conversion resulted in the Ukrainian’s second goal in five Serie A games.

And with five stats over 70 on his base card, any TOTW 26 in-form upgrade would surely be a decent investment for plenty of players.

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