FIFA 18 Ultimate Team Of The Year coming next week – here’s our predicted XI

Few items within Ultimate Team are as highly sought after as Team Of The Year cards released each January – and for FIFA 18, they're getting a new twist with 60% of the 'TOTY' voting being done by those who play, rather than develop, the game.

55 players are nominated for the Team Of The Year, based on performances throughout 2017. Of those 55, select celebrities and high-profile Youtubers, such as Bateson87, are being asked to vote for their final 11 based on feedback from their audience. It means that while the 'real' team of the year selected by FIFA was mostly made up of La Liga players, the virtual one should contain a cross-section from every major league.

The remaining 40% of the vote will come from EA. That's actually a good call, given the community's obsession with Premier League players – it means that while a handful of 'BPL' stars are likely to make it in, the squad won't be solely made up of favourites from the game's most popular league.

Voting, using the Twitter hashtag #TOTYVote, closes on 12 January, and the nominated players are as follows:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Spurs), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid), David De Gea (Manchester United), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

Defenders: Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Diego Godín (Atlético), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), David Luiz (Chelsea), Kalidou Koulibali (Napoli), Jan Vertonghen (Spurs), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Filipe Luís (Atlético Madrid), David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Dani Alves (Paris Saint-Germain), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain), Radja Nainggolan (Roma), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Thiago Alcántara (Bayern Munich), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Isco (Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Christian Eriksen (Spurs), Paolo Dybala (Juventus), Dele Alli (Spurs), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig)

Attackers: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Luis Suárez (Barcelona), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Spurs), Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Here's my best guess at how the final team will line up, based on analysis of that hashtag and in-game trends. For instance, Bonucci was a surprise omission from the current Team Of The Week – which may mean EA has him lined up for one of the TOTY centre back slots.

GK: David De Gea
RB: Dani Alves
CB: Leonardo Bonucci
CB: Sergio Ramos
LB: Marcelo
CM: Kevin de Bruyne
CM: Luka Modric
CM: N'Golo Kante
RW: Lionel Messi
LW: Neymar
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo

FIFA 18's Team Of The Year will be revealed in game from January 15 onwards. If you're looking to boost your in-game dollars in order to buy some of these guys, be sure to bookmark our FIFA 18 coin-making guide.