Fantasy Premier League

FPL long view: Be wary of Villa’s fixtures from Gameweek 13

By The Scout 13 Nov 2023

The Scout on why Villa's schedule could limit output of Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash

A tough run of upcoming opponents for Aston Villa could limit the output of their key players in Fantasy Premier League.

From Gameweek 13 onwards, they face three of the current top four clubs in the space of four matches.

Villa's schedule

GW	Opp.	FDR*
13	TOT (A)	3
14	BOU (A)	2
15	MCI (H)	5
16	ARS (H)	4

*Fixture Difficulty Ratings

Ollie Watkins (£8.4m) and Matty Cash (£5.2m) are Villa’s most-popular players by some margin, found in 43 and 34 per cent of squads respectively.

Although non-owners will steer clear of buying Watkins, his consistency suggests he could still be worth holding onto over the upcoming period.

Despite blanking in each of the last two Gameweeks, the forward has delivered attacking returns in eight of his 11 outings this season.

Indeed, Watkins sits only six points behind Erling Haaland (£14.0m) at the top of the forward standings on 74 points.

Watkins' goal v West Ham

You don't save those. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/zDgZs7TB8M
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 23, 2023

Cash, on the other hand, has a mere nine points in the last four Gameweeks and is a far easier sell.

The right-back has already been sold by 140,00+ FPL managers after sustaining a shoulder injury in Villa’s 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest last weekend, although he has since been passed fit by Emery.

FPL experts: What to do with Man City stars for their tough run?

Appeal in Taylor and Archer

Elsewhere, Burnley and Sheffield United have the schedules to suggest their players could be more than mere bench fodder in Fantasy.

From Gameweek 13, five of Burnley’s subsequent six matches score two in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR).

That lifts the appeal of Charlie Taylor at a cost of only £4.0m. The left-back scored his first goal of 2023/24 against AFC Bournemouth in Gameweek 10.

Burnley fixtures from GW13

GW	Opp.	FDR
13	WHU (H)	2
14	SHU (H)	2
15	WOL (A)	2
16	BHA (A)	3
17	EVE (H)	2
18	FUL (A)	2

Sheff Utd’s Cameron Archer (£4.5m) scored and earned nine points in their 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

Matches against Brighton & Hove Albion, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley in the next three Gameweeks give Archer the chance to build on that momentum, and may even convince some owners to start him.