Predicting FIFA 18’s best ISL strikers from the current rosters

The Indian Super League fever has taken over India, and the league has captured the imagination of the football mad people of the country. In some good news for Indian football followers, EA have decided to include the ISL in the upcoming edition of the FIFA franchise, FIFA 18, allowing its Indian users to play with their choice of ISL teams.

The excitement about ISL’s inclusion is building amongst Indian gamers who can’t wait to play with their favourite domestic teams.

Building up to ISL’s debut in the ever-popular game series, we predicted the ratings for what could be the best ISL midfielders in the game.

We now analyse performances of strikers in last season’s ISL and predict the ratings of who we think are going to be the best five ISL strikers in FIFA 18.

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#5 Richard Gadze – 64 Overall predicted rating

Gadze was part of a deadly Delhi Dynamos attacking quartet

The 23-year-old striker was a part of the deadly Delhi Dynamos attacking unit which terrorised defences in the Indian Super League. Gadze was on loan to Finnish club HJS Helsinki after an impressive first ISL season in 2015.

In his second season for the club, the Ghanaian scored five goals and bagged four assists through the season, being a consistent threat to defences with a combination of electric pace and exuberance. The forward currently plays for Zira FK in the Azerbaijan Premier League on loan from his parent club Delhi Dynamos.

Scoring five goals and setting up another four in the fourteen match ISL season is no mean feat. Expect the young Ghanaian forward to be upgraded from his FIFA 17 rating of 62 to around a level of 64 after his all-round performances in India.

#4 CK Vineeth – 64 Overall predicted rating

Vineeth was a very important player for ISL side Kerala Blasters

The Kerala Blasters season was going nowhere before CK Vineeth turned up after fulfilling his AFC Cup duties with Bengaluru FC. The India international turned up for the Blasters mid-season and turned their campaign around scoring five goals in nine appearances for the men in yellow.

Vineeth’s excellent performances led the Kerala-based side to their second final appearance in three years which they unfortunately lost. The best of the striker’s performances came against Chennaiyin FC in the second South Indian derby where he scored a brace and dominated the Chennai defence.

CK Vineeth’s last appearance on the game was in FIFA 16, where he was given a rating of just 54. Expect EA to significantly improve this rating to around 65 after his electric performances for the Kerala Blasters.

#3 Ian Hume – 66 Overall predicted rating

Hume has become an ISL with his dedicated performances in the ISL

The Canadian striker has become an iconic figure in the ISL with his passionate and fiery performances for league champions Atletico De Kolkata. His seven goals in the previous ISL season were vital in ATK winning the league after Hume had narrowly missed out on the title in 2014 with Kerala Blasters.

Now the highest ever scorer in the league, Hume has often dragged his teams to victory with his goals and sheer force of will to win. His brace against Mumbai City FC in the semi-finals of the league is a shining example of his contributions in the big games.

The Canadian’s last appearance in the FIFA series was in FIFA 14, when the striker was playing for Preston North End in the English league and was rated at 65. We expect Hume to show a slight improvement or remain at the same level on FIFA 18.

#2 Sunil Chhetri – 67 Overall predicted rating

Sunil Chhetri is India’s highest ever goalscorer

Sunil Chhetri has been India’s standout footballer since the retirement of Indian footballing icon Baichung Bhutia. Apart from being the country’s all-time top scorer, he is also the Indian football team captain and the highest rated Indian footballer on FIFA 17 with an overall rating of 67.

Chhetri is the second player on the list who joined the ISL late due to prior AFC Cup commitments with Bengaluru FC. In his first season for his club, he had scored seven goals, becoming the highest scoring Indian in the league.

The 33-year-old is also the most expensive domestic player, commanding a fee of Rs.1.2 crore and paid the confidence showed by his franchise by becoming the first Indian to score a hat-trick in the ISL. The Indian skipper commands an Indian team-high rating of 67 in FIFA 17 and we expect a similar rating for the striker in FIFA 18.

#1 Marcelinho – 69 Overall predicted rating

Marcelinho won the 2016 ISL Golden Boot with his ten goals for the Delhi Dynamos

Brazilian striker Marcelinho was a revelation in ISL 2016, winning the Golden Boot for his 10 goals that he scored for a free-scoring Delhi Dynamos side. The 29-year-old also added five assists to his 10 goals.

Marcelinho also became the first Delhi Dynamos player to score a hat-trick in the third season of the ISL when he contributed three goals in a 5-1 walloping of FC Goa. Amongst the pick of his goals was his magical first goal against FC Goa in the aforementioned match.

Known for his close ball control and rapid pace, Marcelinho has developed a deadly partnership with Richard Gadze, Kean Lewis and former France international Florent Malouda. The striker had a 66 rating on FIFA 15 and his ten goals in the ISL should propel him to a rating of 69 or even becoming an ISL pathbreaker of sorts by breaking into the 70s.