14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at EA Sports is ready to reveal the first Team of the Week package that is being offered for the Ultimate Team mode for FIFA 16 this year, allowing fans of the football simulation to get access to Martial, the new Manchester United star, as well as Oscar, who is returning to form for Chelsea.
The 23 players featured in the new content drop have been selected based on their performance during the last round of championship matches all over Europe.
The attacking line of the Team of the Week is made up of Jermaine Defoe and Slimani, leading an unconventional 3-5-2 formation.
The midfield selected by EA Sports includes the above-mentioned Martial, Andre Gomes, Ninkovic, Oscar and Bruno, a decent mix of defensive- and offensive-minded players.
For the defensive line of the Team of the Week, the studio has selected Collins, Koscielny and Friend, all of them able to protect a goal line against solid attacking players.
The best goalkeeper of the week is Boruc.
EA Sports is also offering a full seven substitutes for the Ultimate Team mode, allowing gamers to shore up some of the areas of their team that might be lacking in quality or to replace the players who do not have solid Chemistry with their teammates.
For FIFA 16, the developers have introduced another five players to the Team of the Week, giving fans, even more options when it comes to team building and more possibilities when they play the transfer market in search for the superstars that can make their first eleven more efficient.
January is an important month for the football world
At the moment the transfer windows for all big championships are open, and while activity so far has been relatively limited, there are plenty of teams planning to enhance their squads in the coming days, either for domestic or European action.
Once January ends and EA Sports has a full list of the changes made by the teams featured in the video game, it will implement them in FIFA 16, potentially in waves, while also using the opportunity to update players stats so that they better reflect their real world performance.
The development team has not said whether it also plans to introduce changes to the actual mechanics of the football simulation, after delivering tweaks during December 2015.
FIFA 16 has a solid fan base, and EA Sports is aiming to keep them engaged and spending money on Ultimate Team for as long as possible.
This means that more community driven tournaments, especially ones using the Draft mode, and more videos, like the recent one featuring Real Madrid players, might be offered in the coming months.
A new title in the franchise is already in development, coming in either September or October of this year, but an official announcement about the new features will only be made in late spring of during E3.
Fans have been asking EA Sports to improve the way players interact with each other and the way passing can unlock an opposing defense.
#TOTW17 with SIF @6_LKOSCIELNY, SIF @AnthonyMartial and IF @oscar8! https://t.co/DDrBi1TnuA pic.twitter.com/vhmfVUfWmR
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) January 6, 2016