FIFA 19 is fast approaching, which can only mean one thing. New Ultimate Team cards.
While some players have performed well beyond their FIFA scores, others have fallen well short – and could be in line for a downgrade.
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We pick out 18 players who’ll almost certainly have their ratings changed in FIFA 19 – 10 who’ll receive upgrades and eight who should be cut down a peg or two.
Let’s first look at the 10 stars who will definitely get a FIFA 19 boost – kicking off with an absolute no-brainer.
David De Gea
Club: Man United
Worthy of his Team of the Year spot and a shoe-in for an upgrade this year.
Diving and reflexes will see a big boost, bumping the Spaniard’s overall rating up to around 92.
He’ll almost certainly be the best keeper on the game – narrowly beating Manuel Neuer, who has spent much of the season injured.
Harry Kane
Club: Spurs
No player in European football scored more goals than Harry Kane in 2017.
The Spurs star has taken his game to another level in the last year and was rewarded with a Team of the Year place alongside (misfiring) Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Kane’s netted 21 goals in 22 games in the Premier League this campaign – and 31 across all competitions.
His standard card is rated at 86 – which is far too low for a forward now undoubtedly in the world-class bracket. Expect his shooting and pace scores to get a real bump.
Kylian Mbappe
Club: PSG
One of the most exciting prospects in the world – and still only 19 years old.
He’s developed into a devastating attacking threat – combining well with Neymar and Edinson Cavani in a rampant PSG front line.
We’d expect a big increase here – especially when it comes to dribbling and pace.
An overall score of 87 would rocket Mbappe into the game’s premier attackers.
Mohammed Salah
Club: Liverpool
The Egyptian’s return to English soil has seen him become one of Premier League’s deadliest forwards.
He’s seen multiple boosted cards throughout his FIFA 18 career – his highest being an 88-rated monster.
Expect at least an 86 in FIFA 19, with boosts to shooting and dribbling.
Ederson
Club: Man City
After Man City’s disastrous experience with Claudio Bravo between the sticks, Ederson has come in and steadied the ship considerably.
The 24-year-old has been in brilliant form this season, with his distribution allowing him to create chances from the back.
At just 83 rated, and with a low 82 score for kicking, we’d expect to see a big increase this year.
Richarlison
Club: Watford
The 20-year-old Brazilian broke on to the scene in stunning fashion for Watford – but has tailed off slightly in recent weeks.
Still, despite being inconsistent, he’s been one of the surprise packages of the Premier League season, showing glimpses of gold-card potential.
A 73-rating standard rating, then, seems a tad low, so expect his overall to climb to around 76.
Raheem Sterling
Club: Man City
It’s weird that Sterling is still just 23-years-old – he seems to have been around forever.
The right winger’s strike rate is not to be sniffed at – with 14 in 22 games in the Premier League. His Champions League ratio fares even better – with four from five games.
A base card of 82 does reflect his transformation under Pep Guardiola – with the 71 shooting stat in particular standing out for all the wrong reasons.
Pace will likely climb by one point – but it’ll be dribbling and shooting that get the biggest bumps – likely boosting his overall score to around 85.
Lionel Messi
Club: Barcelona
Messi is as good as ever at 30-years-old.
The legendary No10 has netted 19 goals in 20 games in La Liga – and 26 from 31 across all competitions.
Although he’s received plenty of upgrades this term, his standard card is still just 93 rated.
When you think that out-of-sorts Ronaldo is at 94, this seems a bit off. EA needs to do the right thing and bump Messi up to at least a 94 rating – especially given Ronaldo’s dip in form.
Dribbling should be at least 97 while passing, without a doubt, should be much higher than 86 (EA has always given the Argentine lower stats in this department).
Ciro Immobile
Club: Lazio
Lazio have been scoring goals for fun this season and a lot of that is down to this man.
The 27-year-old’s hit rate really is something to behold – 20 goals in 19 games in Serie A.
Add to the mix a handful in the Europa League and Coppa Italia and you’ve got one of the in-form strikers in the world right now.
His 82-rated gold is crazy considering this form – so we’d expect a rise to at least 84 – with boosts to pace, shooting and dribbling to reflect his attacking prowess.
Neymar
Club: PSG
The Brazilian has been in blistering form for PSG since moving from Barca.
At 92 rated in FIFA 18, he can expect to climb a point to hit 93.
Bumps in pace and dribbling, albeit small, will make ensure he remains one of the game’s deadliest attackers.
Downgrades
So who is at risk of getting their scores slashed?
We pick out eight misfiring stars who absolutely deserve their ratings cut down to size.
Joe Hart
Club: West Ham
It’s been a torrid season for the West Ham keeper who looks a shadow of what he was at Man City.
Expect his ratings to be hit hard after a string of unconvincing displays for the London club.
There are reports his loan period from City may even be cancelled. Yes, it really has got that bad.
Sergio Ramos
Club: Real Madrid
Real Madrid are currently fourth in La Liga – with boss Zinedine Zidane under fire.
But Ramos has to take his fair share of responsibility, too. After all, he’s the captain and should be leading from the front.
While he’s still undoubtedly class in possesion, there are some question marks over his leadership this season. He needs to get Madrid by the scruff of the neck and pull them through this tough patch. Instead, he’s put in a string of average performances for a Real Madrid back-line that keeps leaking goals.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Club: Manchester United
The Swede came back from injury only to get crocked again – which means we’ve seen precious little of the greatness we know he’s capable of.
Sadly, though, at the age of 36, his powers will almost certainly be on the wane.
An overall rating of 88 ranks him amongst the game’s best – but can we still confidently say that’s still the case?
Plus, with Alexis Sanchez now in the frame, poor Zlatan may be deemed surplus to requirements.
Yaya Toure
Club: Manchester City
He was once one of the greatest midfielders on the planet. However, with a surplus of younger options, Toure has struggled to make the cut this year.
At the age of 34, we’re almost certain his best days are behind him and sadly, his FIFA 19 rating needs to better reflect that.
Such a shame.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Club: Real Madrid
Ronaldo, who was just awarded his place in the FIFA 18 Team of the Year, is one player who could see his overall score lowered.
Despite an incredible year, the 32-year-old Portuguese has struggled of late with his goal return below his usual high standards.
He’s notably not as quick as he once was as well – remember when he he was outpaced by 33-year-old Juanfran earlier in the season?
A recent poll revealed that around 60 per cent of Real Madrid fans want him out the club.
Could this be the beginning of the end?
Karim Benzema
Club: Real Madrid
Another Los Blancos star capable of brilliance but drastically under-performing this season.
The 30-year-old has looked sluggish after a promising start to the season and has failed to gel with Ronaldo as well as he usually does.
In La Liga, the Frenchman has netted just two goals from 13 games – and while his Champions League stats fare slightly better, there are signs his best days could well be over.
Real Madrid fans are growing impatient.
Vincent Kompany
Club: Manchester City
Man City’s crocked captain can be incredibly effective when he’s on form – but we’ve hardly seen him action.
A host of horrific injuries have hampered Kompany’s playing time considerably, and there’s a sense his FIFA 18 rating was perhaps a tad too generous.
Add to the mix the signing of Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte and the 31-year-old risks sliding further into the fray.
David Luiz
Club: Chelsea
The Chelsea star was imperious last season and a key man in Chelsea’s league triumph.
But he’s been replaced by Andreas Christensen this season.
At 30-years-old, there’s still some time – but even his biggest fans are starting to lose patience.