FIFA 19 Winter Upgrades: 5 Premier League players who deserve an upgrade

We are 3 months into FIFA 19 and that means we are just a few weeks away from the winter upgrades. The first week of February will see the new FIFA Ultimate Team cards coming out and we take a look at the players who are bound to get an upgrade.

Several players have exceeded everyone's expectations and the gamers want the cards to reflect their player's performances on the pitch. In FIFA 18, we saw Mohamed Salah get the biggest upgrade – jumping from 83 to 85 – but this time around, he is not expected to get one.

For the latest FIFA 19 Winter Upgrades, stick to Sportskeeda.

Without further ado, here are the 5 players who deserve an upgrade in FIFA 19:

#5 Raheem Sterling

Manchester City v TSG 1899 Hoffenheim - UEFA Champions League Group F

Manchester City might not be performing like they did last season but that has not stopped Raheem Sterling. The Englishman has been in scintillating form and has been helping City get points when they seem to be losing out.

The winger got a rating of 85 at the launch of FIFA 19 and that itself was not accepted by a majority of the games. While his pace (93) and dribbling (87) stats were spot on, nothing else was close.

Sterling was given a rating of 73 for shooting and just 76 for passing. Yes, he did miss a lot of easy chances last season and was not scoring a lot but 73 is way too low. It could have been easily around 78-79 at least.

As for passing, 76 is something you give a player who misplaces a lot of passes, like Lukaku and Willian. But Sterling was one of the best passers at City and easily should have been rated around 81.

With him proving this season that the stats on his FIFA 19 card are nowhere close, EA should give him a good upgrade. His POTM card has a rating of 88 with shooting at 80 and passing at 82 and it would be ideal to have a stats remain the similar, if not the overall.

Reducing his defending and increasing his shooting & passing should give them the liberty to upgrade his card from 85 to 87 with his shooting and passing stats at 78 and 81.

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#4 David Brooks

David Brooks has been the best midfielder for Bournemouth this PL season

David Brooks has to be the surprise package of the season. The 21-year-old Welsh signed from Sheffield United in the summer has been the one leaving everyone behind and taking Bournemouth's attack to the next level.

The midfielder currently has a silver card in FUT with a rating of just 69. Adding to that, he has a 2-star weak foot and a 3-star rating for skill moves. Looking at the way he is playing in the Premier League, everyone would agree that he deserves a lot more.

There is no way EA would give him a huge upgrade from silver to gold in February, but he has to be given the maximum for a silver – 74. All his stats also need to be upgraded as they are not even 75% of his abilities.

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#3 Virgil van Dijk

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool FC - Premier League

Virgil van Dijk has easily been the best defender in the league this season. He has bullied the opponents off the ball and also been rock solid at the back.

He is one of the main reasons why Liverpool are unbeaten this season and it would be a big surprise if EA do not give him an upgrade. Apart from his 85 rated base card, Van Dijk has 2 86-rated and 2 87-rated cards.

The 86-rated IF card has been the ideal reflection of his on-field performances and EA should upgrade his card to the same. His 86-rated UCL card is also quite similar but the defending stats are just 86 – compared to 88 in the IF card.

Van Dijk is already the costliest centre-back among regular FUT card in the Premier League at 182k and should he get a 86 rated card, expect it go for 250k in the first 3-4 weeks.

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#2 Antonio Rudiger

Antonio Rudiger has been Chelsea's best defender for the last two seasons

When the FIFA 19 ratings came out, it was a surprise to all, especially Chelsea fans, when Antonio Rudiger got a downgrade. He was rated 82 in FIFA 18 but despite being the best centre-back at Chelsea last season, he got a downgrade to 81.

He has been highly consistent and also taken his game to the next level under Maurizio Sarri. While the other 3 in the defence have made mistakes, the German has not played a single game where he has dropped below a 7/10 performance.

EA should give him an upgrade to 83 – on par with his central defensive partner, David Luiz. The main stats they need to upgrade for him are his pace and strength. Currently, at 73 and 77, he should have at least 83 and 88 respectively.

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#1 Alisson

Liverpool FC v Manchester United - Premier League

Alisson has been the best keeper in the Premier League by a mile. The Brazilian has not been tested a lot this season but when called into action, he has been brilliant.

Liverpool fans will argue that his save in the dying minutes vs Napoli should be enough to get him an upgrade, but that isn't the only time he has impressed this season. He might have made a couple of errors that lead to goals but they haven't cost Liverpool any points and there is no denying that he has helped them gain a lot of them.

He's currently at 85 in FIFA 19 and an upgrade to 86 is well deserved. His reflexes and positioning have been spot on and his stats of 88 and 83 should go up to 90 and 86. Diving and handling should go up to 84 and 86 – reflecting his TOTW card.