Aston Villa’s FPL picks: Players to get and avoid and will Champions League damage their Premier League campaign?

A look at the latest on Villa, with a fun few picks for your FPL teams!

Transcript

00:00Moving on to the Premier League, let's start with Aston Villa. The FPL always builds excitement

00:08around the new season. Just looking at the FPL from that perspective, in terms of, let's

00:14do two players to get into the clubs, or you could recommend that might get some points

00:19for Aston Villa for people's teams, and maybe one to avoid, or a couple to avoid?

00:25OK, well, I think the obvious one to go for, and he's in my team, is Ollie Watkins. 9 million.

00:31It might seem a bit expensive, considering he's risen in price, but he got the most points

00:35out of any player in fantasy football last year, I believe. Maybe Cole Palmer pipped

00:39him at the end, but it would have been very close between the two. In terms of forwards,

00:42though, he beat Erling Haaland for total points, and to be 6 million less than Haaland, and

00:48you're in a team, a Villa team, that's going to be challenging for top four again. Maybe

00:52a tough run at the beginning, away at West Ham, and then you've got Arsenal at home.

00:56It's not the easiest, but Watkins can score against absolutely anyone, so I think he's

01:00a must-have in my team anyway. Morgan Rodgers is one that's interesting. Only 5 million

01:05as a midfielder. If you're looking for a budget option, I'd probably have a look at him. Lots

01:09of people looking at 5.5 million. I think for 5, you can have a player who's going to

01:13get pretty regular starts under Unai Emery, and if not, he comes off the bench, and he's

01:17got so much energy that there's always a chance for goal. In terms of players to avoid, I've

01:23seen a lot of people talking about John McGehan or Ross Barkley and bringing them in because

01:27they're quite cheap, but when you've got Rodgers, who's cheaper and is more attacking, why would

01:31you go for those two? I mean, they're great players in their own right. They're going

01:34to get very regular minutes, but in terms of goal scoring and assists, I don't think

01:38they'll be quite the level of Morgan Rodgers. Do you think, just on Villa's prospects for

01:44this season, do you think they are going to be challenging again for top four? I've

01:47seen a fair few predictions that say European football might get the better of them, like

01:52it sort of did with Newcastle maybe last season. I saw that with my team as well. Brighton,

01:57from a buyer's point of view, it can really affect you having those extra games, but they

02:02had a little taster of it last year with the Europa Conference League. They got to the

02:05advanced stages of that, and they still finished in the top four. They have lost, obviously,

02:10Douglas Luiz at the base of midfield, and that's going to be a big loss for them, but

02:14they should be able to kick on with the number of new signings they've made. Moussa Diaby

02:17won't be as big of a miss because he was in and out of the team anyway. I think they're

02:22looking really strong, and Amadou Onana as well in the base of midfield should add another

02:26big boost for them, and then when Boubacar Kamara comes back as well, you've got Buendia,

02:30you've got Mings, they'll feel like new signings after their injuries. I think they can challenge

02:35again. The Champions League is obviously a different kettle of fish to the Conference

02:39League, and it is going to get a lot tougher for them, but they've got the squad depth,

02:43they've got Unai Emery, most importantly, and I think they'll be right up there once again.