After three games in the PL, it’s time to assess how the Villa players fared in the Fantasy Leagues.
In the top spot, there’s no surprise that Christian Benteke has topped the points already.
After learning that Villa had to play Arsenal away, Chelsea away and Liverpool at home in the first three fixtures, I’m sure most fans had probably decided that they would stay away from Villa players in general, until September at least.
Nevertheless, some fans have seen the power of Benteke. He’s described as a goal-scoring machine and for those people who had faith in him it paid off. He scored two against Arsenal and one against Chelsea. In both games, he wasn’t really a stand-out performer but still racked up the points – signs of a real quality player.
Against Liverpool, the whole team didn’t really perform in the first half but came back into the game in the second half and caused Liverpool problems. Benteke had two or three good chances and looked like he was coming back into his old form. He nearly scored a peach of a goal but was denied by a good Simon Mignolet save. At the end of the day, three goals out of three games is an excellent return, especially against Champions League contenders.
The stats
[column col=”1/2″]
From The Sun’s Dream Team FC;
Vs. Arsenal
Goals: 2
Yellow Cards: 1
Penalty Missed: 1
Total Points: 9
Vs. Chelsea
Goals: 1
Yellow Cards: 1
Total Points: 7
Vs. Liverpool
Goals: 0
Total Points: 0
[/column]
[column col=”2/2″]From The Fantasy Premier League
Vs. Arsenal
Goals: 2
Yellow Cards: 1
Penalty Missed: 1
Bonus Points: 3
Total Points: 10
Vs. Chelsea
Goals: 1
Yellow Cards: 1
Bonus Points: 3
Total Points: 8
Vs. Liverpool
Goals: 0
Total Points: 2
[/column]
I’ve had him as captain for the last three weeks and it only really backfired when I put him as captain against Liverpool. With the hard fixtures out of the way, I really think Benteke will push on now. You have to remember though, Villa will not play anyone next week, so, if you haven’t put him in your team yet, bear that in mind.
Next up is Gabby Agbonlahor.
Gabby has been playing as a man possessed! He’s been running directly at defenders through the middle and on the wings and it’s evidently caused havoc for the opposition. At Arsenal, he made two direct runs through the defence and won two penalties – and should’ve had two assists rather then one if Benteke had converted his penalty directly. At Chelsea, he ran down the wing and played a great ball into Benteke, who produced a sublime finish.
The Stats
[column col=”1/2″]
From The Sun’s Dream Team FC;
Vs. Arsenal
Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 1
Assists: 1
Total Points: 7
Vs. Chelsea
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Total Points: 3
Vs. Liverpool
Goals: 0
Total Points: 3
[/column]
[column col=”2/2″]From The Fantasy Premier League
Vs. Arsenal
Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 1
Assists: 1
Total Points: 4
Vs. Chelsea
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Total Points: 5
Vs. Liverpool
Goals: 0
Total Points: 2
[/column]
So two assists in three games is also a very good return. It should’ve been three assists in three games but that’s not Gabby’s fault. Again, that is very good against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Gabby will probably be playing that left forward position all season barring injuries so I reckon he’s an excellent third choice option. I’d class him in the Berbatov ‘division’ of strikers: someone who does score goals but also chips in with a good number of assists each season.
The Defence
Unfortunately, the defence is conceding goals so our defenders don’t look like great players to have in the squad. However, our next fixtures are against Newcastle, Norwich, Manchester City and Hull. In my opinion, you should keep a Villa defender in there. My choice would be one of our full backs, Antonio Luna or Matt Lowton.
Good luck, lads!
