Aston Villa are once again teaming up with the No.1 independent fantasy football site in 2021/22.
Fantasy Football Scout will be providing regular reports packed with hints and tips to help you, hopefully, move into the top tier of fantasy football management.
If you need some guidance ahead of GW23, sit back and take their advice on board…
January has been a busy time for Aston Villa with new signings arriving at the club.
Lucas Digne (£5.0m) made his first Premier League start for the Villans in Gameweek 22, with Philippe Coutinho (£7.0m) making a goal-scoring start to his career at the club after coming on for the final 22 minutes and netting the equaliser that secured a well-deserved point.
The weekend’s underlying stats for Aston Villa were impressive. Emi Beundia (£6.2m) ranked fifth for chances created across the league with four, as well as being fifth for touches in the opponent’s half with 79.
Tyrone Mings (£5.0m) was second for passing - 89 passes were recorded, 78 of which were successful. Moreover, Matty Cash (£5.1m) was fifth for crosses in Gameweek 22 as well as being top across the division for tackles won – seven from his nine attempts.
As a team, Villa came third for shots with 13 (nine on target) and fourth for chances created with 12. They were also fourth for passing (540), crosses (18) and touches in the opponent’s half (727).
With a couple of postponed games still to be rescheduled, Aston Villa assets should be a key target for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers as this will allow them to benefit from additional fixtures.
There is a wealth of opportunities for FPL managers in the Villa ranks: regular goal scorers in Ollie Watkins (£7.7m) and Danny Ings (£7.7m), creative midfielders, plus a tight back line made up of defenders who regularly bring attacking returns. This means that the double-up or even the treble-up holds real potential.
Jacob Ramsey (£4.6m) has now returned two double-digit hauls in the last four Gameweeks including a 12-point haul in Gameweek 22.
Above: Jacob Ramsey's heat map this season.
Ramsey looks likely to become the go-to budget enabler at just £4.6m. He has registered six goal attempts in the last six Gameweeks, which is more than the likes of Manchester City trio Jack Grealish (£7.6m), Ilkay Gundogan (£7.3m) and Bernardo Silva (£7.5m).
Ramsey has an expected goals on target (xG on target) of 1.53 and an expected goal involvement (xGI) of 1.43, which gives an enticing opportunity for FPL managers looking to target the Aston Villa attack.
