iLandslaget - Swedish team

[PeterMeter]

SEASON 4
The season starts today!
The disappointing Cup defeat after having drawn both games against lvl5 team Christian FC means iLandslaget will have to turn their eyes to the double with both the League and the Champions League kicking off today.

Today's feature will focus on the league table and the march ahead.

There are a few familiar faces in the mix, starting off with Beytar FC whose manager followed iLandslaget's games on a couple of occassions last season inspite of playing in a higher league.

BEYTAR FC failed to gain promotion from LVL4 last season, and seemed to have drifted into a state of semi-activeness. At a value of 20.7m and an average rating of 28.4* they belong to the upper tier of this year's league. They have a decent enough looking squad with an average age of 24.6. Normally playing a narrow 3-2-2-1-2 they forego possession of the ball in favor of dominating the center of the pitch.
Haim Biton (38*) will command their backline and is one of two power players in Beytar FC. The other main threat is central midfielder Hamada Aslan (35*) who is a veteran with the ability to dominate the midfield. Other potential threats are defender Inostroza (32*), defensive midfielder Makhmudov (34*), young central midfielder Bakhar (33*) and feared striker Dahan (31*)
Predicted placing 5

ISRAELI TEAM followed iLandslaget from last year's LVL3. They ended up in a respectable 6th place last season and so gained promotion but failed to earn a place in the Champions League. Not one of the more active teams in the league, but has enough of a team to surprise the unwary. The team is valued at 7.85m and have a rating of 22.1*. They have a small squad with an average age of 25.5 with no real star quality among their ranks. Best player, and realistically their only threat, is Julien Ligali (33*) who commands the team from his central defense. They generally play a traditional 4-4-2.
Predicted placing 8

ROMAIN FC will remain a thorn in the side of every single one of iLandslaget's fans. They battled to take 1st place in LVL3 and have again been seeded into the same league as the Swedes. While not having strengthened their squad that much since last year, they were more than a match for most of the teams at LVL3. Rated at 26.0* and a squad value of 13.5m they don't seem the worst threat but they are a well drilled team that surprised many fans last season. With an average age of 23.8 they have a young and hungry squad, eager to do well. Stand-out performer was Yegor Dubovskiy, (34*) the striker who stole most of the plaudits last year. He is backed up by right winger Nocente (33*), central defender Bergara (32*) and expert penalty stopper Le Thanh Luong.
Romain FC play a defensively strong 5-3-2 that garnered great success last year. In the league premiere they triumphed 4-0 against yuni firhan FC.
Predicted placing 4

GLORY UNITED was one of the teams expected to do better last year in light of their Champions League triumph in LVL2. Perhaps a bit unlucky in being seeded into a league of Romain FC, iLandslaget and Op ICO Soraka we'll see how they do this year. With an average rating of 25.7* they are definitely among the league's stronger teams and with an average age of 26.9 they might have the experience to go all the way. The team is valued at 11.6m with a few standout performers.
They shifted from a 4-2-2W-2 to a 4-3-3 during last season and the players seemed to cope well enough to carry the formation into this season. Striker Karg (30*) and the right-sided midfielder Suzuki (33*) are the team's main offensive threats while the defense is shored up by Mohd Fauzi (30*) and Joswig (30*)
Predicted placing 6

TOTFOOT FC is an unfamiliar team for most fans of the iLandslaget but a trophy cabinet tells of a well-run club used to battling amongst the best. A Cup win in LVL1 as well as two straight League Championships should raise a cautionary finger to anyone foolish enough not to consider them a threat.
They are rated at 28.4*, valued at 30m and with an average age of 21.4 Totfoot is easily the youngest squad in the league with a very competetive squad starring as many as eight 4* players, among them the right-sided dribbling virtuoso Marco Ferrera (31*).
No real weaknesses and a big squad with capable subs makes Totfoot FC a dark horse for the league title.
Predicted placing 3

ALI FC is a turkish team with an ageing squad, where the average age is 30. Three consecutive 3rd places in the League and no Cup or Champions League honors would tempt to point toward another 3rd place but I fear they will find themselves struggling further down the table than that.
With a 21.5*-rated squad they might have what it takes to challenge for upper half but not much more.
The team is valued at 5.15m which is much to do with their ageing squad where left-back Harold Jimenez (33*) is the only real stand out performer.
They generally play in a 5-4-1.
Predicted placing 9

CHELSEA FC is one of two teams of the Chelsea-esque persuasion in the league, and likely the stronger of the two. Valued at 8.4m and with an average rating of 23.9* tells of the team's former glories. They won both League and Champions League in LVL2 but then stumbled to a 5th placing in LVL3.
The squad's average age of 26.6 is a nod to a good blend of experience and hunger, but doubts over the squad's quality mean that they are hard to place in the standings.
Three standout performers divided among the team's 3 lines with centreback Nieuwboer (30*) also a corner specialist, central midfielder Fernandez (31*) holding together the centre of the park and veteran striker Sury (30*) leads the line in a 3-5-2.
Predicted placing 7

ET BEARS FC is an English team seemingly erratic in their placings. They followed up a LVL1 5th place with a 2nd place in LVL2 then only just gained promotion by placing 7th in LVL3. With a squad rating of 21.3* they should find it hard to compete with the better teams in the league. An average age of 30.1 tells of an ageing squad nearly depleted after three seasons, and with a value of 3.89m most of the better performers have moved on. At the time of writing I struggled to find any real threats and no coherent formation except maybe something resembling a 5-3-2, and think we'll see ET BEARS FC struggling down in the last places of LVL4.
Predicted placing 13

JUSTLEET FC have done well so far this season winning both their Cup ties as well as defeating Glory United just hours ago. No honors in the previous Cups or Champions League but they have won their Leagues at LVL1 and LVL3. They have a team rating of 29.3*, an average age of 27.7 and an estimated value of the team at 13.9m. They have all the tools to do well in this league and with a few key performers they can maybe even make a sustained challenge for the title. Their team is built upon a strong defensive unit with Won-Shik Kang (38*) in central defense and Mario Velev (39*) at rightback shoring up their preferred 4-1-2-3.
Predicted placing 2

YUNI FIRHAN FC has surely seen it's best years with a nearly depleted squad still rated at 24.6*. The average age of the squad is 32.9 and with an estimated value of 4.27m you won't see yuni firhan FC as one of the promotion challengers. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't gain more than a handful of points in this League.
No standout performers and the league's smallest stadium with a capacity of 200 will surely see the team finish in the bottom 3-4 teams in the league.
Predicted placing 12

EL CHELSEA FC is the poorer of the two Chelsea teams seeded into the league. With an estimated value of 4.78m and the team rated at 16.1* you will see el Chelsea FC battling for survival in the league's lower echelons.
They play a flat 5-3-2 but have no real standout performers so they will struggle to impose themselves on opposition teams. Having placed themselves 7th in LVL1, 5th in LVL2 and 6th in LVL3 they have rarely been involved in title fights and no one is expecting them to do so this year either.
Predicted placing 14

SAFAK FC will be a new acquaintance for the iLandslaget fans as the teams will play in the same league this season. Heiring from Turkey, Safak FC is a team that has struggled to promotion every one of the last three seasons ending at 6th, 4th and 5th place respectively. The ageing squad with the league's oldest average at 32.9 and a value of 4.3m lack any real power players or standout performers also reflected in the average rating of their team at 24.6*.
The team, playing a 4-3W-3, will have a real struggle in trying to gain promotion this year, and most pundits have them as a lower half struggler for this season.
Predicted placing 10

ABOOD FC is another of the new teams to compete for the LVL4 title. Very reminiscent of Safak FC and yuni firhan FC they have an elderly squad, with the average age at 32.9, as well as a generally low rating at 24.6*. The squad is valued at 4.3m with no real standout performers here either.
Typically they will struggle in the lower half of the table without affecting, or troubling, the teams chasing the title too much.
They've been hard to pinpoint in how they set up their team, but on the other hand none of the team's players look capable of effectively affecting the outcome of a game.
Predicted placing 11