Goalkeepers

Tom Heaton £4.5 – Should be nailed on. Played in our last pre-season match against Leipzig and was our man of the match easily. VERDICT: One of the better 4.5 keepers. Worth considering.

Örjan Nyland £4.5 – 4th choice keeper. VERDICT: avoid.

Jed Steer £4.5 – Second or third choice. VERDICT: avoid.

Lovre Kalinic £4.5 – Second or third choice with Steer. However, rumoured to be leaving. VERDICT: avoid.

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DEFENDERS

Matt Targett £4.5 – I was very excited when he joined and I even put him in my team for a while. However, he hasn’t really impressed me yet this pre-season. Hasn’t been as involved in attacks as our other full-backs. He averaged 1.7 key passes per 90 last season at Southampton which is very good for a defender. I wouldn’t expect too many clean sheets this season even though we have really bolstered our defence.

VERDICT: If he starts being more involved in attacks, he is one to look out for as he should be starting most matches.

Tyrone Mings £4.5 – A true fan favourite. Would say he is nailed on but because we have so many new centre-backs I won’t. Has been good in pre-season and played the whole match against Leipzig. Scored twice in 18 matches last season and is a real threat in set-pieces (which we are really good at especially when Hourihane is playing).

VERDICT: Not the best, not the worst for the price.

Ahmed El Mohamedy £4.5 – Some fans really like him, some don’t. I am in the latter set of fans even though his performances really started improving at the second half of last season. I am not 100% sure but I think he will start the season on the bench as new signing Guilbert has really stood out. If Elmo starts getting consistent playing time, he would be a good option because he can really cross the ball. He got 2 goals and 8 assists last season.

VERDICT: Avoid at the start. If Guilbert gets injured or drops out of favour, consider.

James Chester £4.5 – For playing too much, Chester is now very likely injured for the rest of his career. He can still play though but not regularly. Aerial threat, great player and a fan favourite but not a good option for FPL

VERDICT: Avoid.

Neil Taylor £4.5 – Defensive minded, back-up full back. Even if he starts playing ahead of Targett, not a good option.

VERDICT: Avoid.

Kortney Hause £4.5 – This summer we have signed 4 new centre-backs (2 of them were on loan last season) and we already had one solid centre back at the club. I would except all of them to be rotated quite a lot with Mings and maybe Engels playing a bit more than the others. Because of the heavy competition in this position, I would avoid all of them except Mings.

VERDICT: Back-up/Heavy rotation. Avoid.

Ezri Konsa £4.5 – Perhaps an England international in the future signed from Brentford where he only spent one season. Its the second time Dean Smith has signed him so he obviously holds him him in high regard. One for the future but avoid this season.

Verdict: Avoid.

Bjorn Engels £4.5 – Has been really impressive in the pre-season. 194cm(6ft4 inches) ball playing centre back. Only one goal in Ligue 1 last season but potential for much more. Should start the season with Mings as his partner.

VERDICT: Not the best option.

Frédéric Guilbert £4.5 – It’s funny how he was described as a more defensive minded full-back when we signed him but in pre-season it almost feels like he has been a bit too attacking leaving the defense vulnerable sometimes. I’m sure it has to do with Caen really struggling in Ligue 1 last season and that we have played a lot of lower side opponents this pre-season. He has been really impressive nonetheless and if he keeps bombing forwards he can be a really good option.

VERDICT: Best Villa defender to have at this moment, I have him in my team personally.

Summary – Not sure what to make of our defence. On the other hand we were very leaky in the championship last season, but on the other we have signed 6 new defenders. Our defense as a whole has looked alright in pre-season but could be more convincing. All of our defenders are owned by a very little % of players with El Mohamedy being the highest owned at 3.2 even though I wouldn’t except him to start. Worth taking a punt on Guilbert or Mings? Sure!

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MIDFIELDERS

Jack Grealish £6.0 -Someone who the Villa fans, including me, love more than anything or anyone and is hated by everyone else. He gets called a ‘diver’ a lot which I don’t agree with at all, although he does go down easily from time to time. Is 1000% nailed on and our main source of creativity. He loves to be on the ball and I would expect himm to get quite a lot of bonus points. However, I wouldn’t really call him an attacking midfielder anymore as he comes very deep to get the ball and helps in defence as well. He got 6 goals and 7 assists in the championship last season and I wouldn’t expect those numbers to go up this season.

VERDICT: He is one of the best options for his price but I would avoid for the simple fact that his ownership is relatively high at 7.7%

Trezeguet £5.5 – This one is really interesting. Having scored 22 goals and assisted 15 in the past two seasons in the Turkish first tier it is a question about how can he adapt to the premier league. He is a winger who can play on left and right side of the field. We haven’t seen too much of him in the pre-season but against Leipzig he came off the bench and assisted our third goal very nicely. There is a chance he will start against Spurs but I doubt it.

VERDICT: Monitor.

John McGinn £5.5 – Another fan favorite and won the Villa player of the season award last season. A sort of box-to-box midfielder who does his defending quite high up the field. Loves shooting and has a great shot on him, is excellent at dribbling and can run for days. Should be nailed on and is an exciting option for his price.

VERDICT: Decent option for his price.

Anwar El Ghazi £5.5 – I’m not the biggest fan of El Ghazi. From what I’ve seen he isn’t comfortable using his left foot and as a right footed left winger he often slows the play down quite a lot when he gets the ball on the wing. He is alright at dribbling and if he can cut inside from the wing he can shoot really well. As we are lacking in wingers at the moment, I would expect him to get a lot of minutes. 6 goals 6 assists last season

VERDICT: I think there are better options for the price but not a disaster if you pick him.

Douglas Luiz £4.5 – Super promising defensive midfielder who will possibly share playing time with two other players.

VERDICT: Avoid.

Birkir Bjarnason £4.5 – Defensive minded midfielder who won’t play single minute this season.

VERDICT: Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Jota £6.0 – Untypical winger who likes to roam around a lot. I would describe him as an inverted playmaker. Many expected him to be merely a back-up player when we signed him but has been really good in pre-season. Another player manager Smith has worked with before. 3 goals 11 assists for Birmingham last season.

VERDICT: I think there are better options for cheaper but one to monitor.

Conor Hourihane £6.0 – Another player who divides opinions. The things he is good at, he is really good at but he also has some major weaknesses. 8 goals 11 assists is very good even in the championship but I believe he will struggle for playing time this season. He has been used as our deepest midfielder in pre-season and he has been quite poor in my opinion. His set-piece delivery and long shooting is excellent but I would stay away from him because I think our other midfielders are better than him. (Yes even after he scored two free kicks against Leipzig.)

VERDICT: Avoid. Too expensive and not nailed.

Keinan Davis £4.5 – I have ABSOLUTELY no idea why Keinan is listed as a midfielder as he looks like a stereotypical striker, is a striker and has never been anything else than a striker. Would love to pick him just because he is OOP but he is not going to play much and even if he did, he is not a prolific goal scorer.

VERDICT: Avoid.

Henri Lansbury £4.5 – Despite being pretty decent in pre-season, would be surprised if he gets more than 90 mins of playing time this season.

VERDICT: Avoid.

Marvelous Nakamba £4.5 – Despite his name, there are more marvelous 4.5 enablers like Dendoncker from Wolves.

VERDICT: Avoid as I’d expect him to share minutes with Hourihane and Luiz.

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Forwards

Wesley £6.0 – I have him in my team just because I’m biased. Our first choice striker at the moment but I wouldn’t expect anything otherworldly from him this season. Strong and athletic forward but still young and raw.

VERDICT: There are probably better options for his price but because there is not much competition for him at the moment in the squad, he is one to consider.

Jonathan Kodjia £5.5 – Our second choice striker in the championship last season. I have always liked him but wouldn’t expect him to get a lot of starts if Wesley stays fit. We are rumored to be looking for another striker before the window ends.

VERDICT: Avoid unless Wesley gets injured or dropped for another reason and we don’t sign a new striker.

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Conclusion

I have Heaton, Guilbert and Wesley in my team at the moment. Wesley may not be the wisest option but as a Villa fan I have unreasonable optimism he will succeed beyond expectations. 

Other players to consider are McGinn, Grealish, Mings and perhaps Targett.

If either Douglas Luiz or Nakamba ends up being nailed on, they could be good alternatives for Dendoncker who has a very high ownership.

I would love for any Aston Villa fans to tell me where they disagree in the comments, this is just my opinion after all. I hope it helps!

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