The season finale is nearly here in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team as the Team of the Season event is set to begin. The Premier League TOTS squad is always one of the most eagerly anticipated, and this year is set to be no different.
EA has revealed the voting periods for each of the major league Team of the Season squads, and the current schedule has the Premier League TOTS penciled in as the first to be released.
Voting is underway for the Premier League team as EA has now revealed the full list of nominees, but some of the options are well and truly baffling!
Premier League TOTS Nominees
EA released the full list of contenders for the Premier League Team of the Season on Monday, 17 April. Voting for the squad is now open, and you have until Thursday, 20 April to submit your selection!
Before we take a deep dive into the contenders and the absurdity of some nominees, let's take a look at who is available. There are some obvious names in the list with the likes of Erling Haaland a shoo-in for the main squad.
Arsenal stars Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, and William Saliba have all helped fire The Gunners to the top of the table, so their inclusion is more than merited too!
Newcastle has also been a surprise package this season, and it is no surprise to see their captain Kieran Tripper and rock-solid centre-back Sven Botman make the list.
Goalkeepers
- Alisson - Liverpool
- Kepa Arrizabalaga - Chelsea
- Bernd Leno - Fulham
- Nick Pope - Newcastle United
- Aaron Ramsdale - Arsenal
Defenders
- Sven Botman - Newcastle United
- Gabriel - Arsenal
- Lisandro Martinez – Manchester United
- Ben Mee - Brentford
- Christian Romero - Tottenham Hotspur
- Ruben Dias - Manchester City
- William Saliba - Arsenal
- Luke Shaw - Manchester United
- Thiago Silva - Chelsea
- Kieran Trippier – Newcastle United
- Oleksandr Zinchenko - Arsenal
Midfielders
- Rodrigo Bentancur - Tottenham Hotspur
- Bruno Guimaraes - Newcastle United
- Casemiro - Manchester United
- Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - Tottenham Hotspur
- Alexis Mac Allister - Brighton
- James Maddison - Leicester City
- Solly March - Brighton
- Kaoru Mitoma - Brighton
- Martin Odegaard - Arsenal
- Joao Palhinha - Fulham
- Rodri - Manchester City
Attackers
- Miguel Almiron - Newcastle United
- Gabriel Martinelli - Arsenal
- Jack Grealish - Manchester City
- Erling Haaland - Manchester City
- Kai Havertz - Chelsea
- Harry Kane - Tottenham Hotspur
- Riyad Mahrez - Manchester City
- Darwin Nunez - Liverpool
- Marcus Rashford - Manchester United
- Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
- Mohamed Salah - Liverpool
- Ollie Watkins - Aston Villa
Chelsea Blues
There must be a Chelsea fan in charge of Team of the Season selection at EA, because some of these nominations are well wide of the mark. Let's start with the goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, who arguably is the most deserving of the Chelsea contingent.
Kepa started the season on the bench but has since returned to the starting lineup, playing 23 matches, conceding 21 goals, and keeping nine clean sheets. These stats are decent, but the Spaniard does not feature in the top five for clean sheets or saves made.
Scratching below the surface though, Kepa's clean sheet percentage is 39.1%, lower only than Nick Pope and David De Gea of the first-choice goalkeepers. Kepa also leads the league with a 77.7 save percentage. Maybe not such a baffling selection after all.
While we can defend Kepa, there really is no defence of Kai Havertz. When looking for the German international's stats this season, we had to click next page which just about sums up his season.
With just eight goal involvements, Havertz is 43rd in the Premier League, level with relegation-scrapping West Ham duo Said Benrahma and Danny Ings, who, by the way, are nowhere near the nominees!
Lastly, Thiago Silva. A fine player in his own right, the Brazilian's season has been curtailed by injury, but he would be the first to admit it has not been his best year. Eight of Chelsea's defeats this season have been in games he has featured, so we are struggling to find what has warranted his nomination.
Suspect Strikers
Ivan Toney can feel hard done by. The fact that the Brentford star has been left out despite bagging 18 goals is perplexing. He is the third top scorer in the Premier League and has scored more goals than Darwin Nunez and Havertz combined, who have both made the list, all while playing for Brentford.
What has Nunez been selected for? He has the same number of goals as Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus, and Phil Foden, none of whom have been nominated.
Callum Wilson, Rodrigo, and Fulham naughty boy Aleksandar Mitrovic have all outscored the £60 million man. Nunez has not been terrible, but does he really deserve to be nominated for Team of the Season?