March
07

The Watchlist – James Collins

Filed under: Injury News - Posted by: Sir Paulos

Having missed two Premier League weekends on the trot through domestic cup duties, Aston Villa return to action with the first of two consecutive Double Game Weeks.

Investment in Martin O’Neill’s squad will understandably be high, and with Villa’s favourable run-in (plus, following the postponement of their weekend GW34 match with Everton, they may, unless the Everton game is re-scheduled midweek, have two more yet-to-be-scheduled outstanding doubles) any transfers in could easily be considered “keepers” from here on in.

Whilst the likes of Richard Dunne and James Milner are the most obvious choices, there are definite bargains to be had amongst the Villa team. Priced at just £4.5m, James Collins falls firmly into that category…

Earlier this season, Collins was in sparkling form alongside Dunne in central defence, and had impressed his manager to such an extent that O’Neill talked of him as a possible future captain of the club.

A groin injury suffered against former club West Ham in November sidelined the Wales skipper for a couple of months but having now fully recovered, he has played every minute of Villa’s league games since the turn of the year. His recent performances that have helped maintain the club’s run as the only unbeaten club in the Premiership for 2010.

Collins return to central defence has seen Carlos Cuellar shift to right back in O’Neill’s preferred line-up, and he has subsequently caught the eye of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Point judges, scoring more bonus than any Villa defender since coming back to the first-team fold. Villa’s defence have been the foundation of their success this season, and with eleven clean sheets, have only two less than Chelsea, having played two fewer games.

A great “differential”, Collins currently has just 6.5% of FPL owners compared to fellow centre half Dunne at 40%, who is also currently £2.1m more expensive. With Villa’s next five gameweeks now confirmed as: (stk & wig, WLV & SUN, che, bol, EVE), Martin O’Neill’s team will be looking to turn up the pressure in this season’s close-run battle for fourth and James Collins could and should have a big part to play.

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“Is certain he won't make the same mistakes next season.”

Sir Paulos @ffscout_paulos

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The Watchlist

Goalkeepers

Player Club Factors
No Change Krul NEW A, Vs
No Change Hart MCI B, Vs
No Change Kenny QPR C, Vs, Rest, £
No Change Mignolet SUN B, £
Up Al-Habsi WIG B, Vs, £
No Change Foster WBA B
No Change Vorm SWA B, VsX, £
Down Hennessey WOL B, Vs
No Change Sørensen STO B, Vs, Rest, £
Up Bogdan BOL C, Rest, £

Defenders

Player Club Factors
No Change Kompany MCI B, Vs
Up Huth STO B, Vs
No Change Simpson NEW B, Vs, £
No Change Riise FUL C, Vs
Up Bardsley SUN B, £
Up Senderos FUL B, Vs, Rest, £
Up Taiwo QPR B, Vs, £
No Change Evans MUN B, VsX, £
No Change Taylor NEW B, Vs, Rest, OoP
Up Rangel SWA B, VsX, £
No Change Clark AVL B, Vs, OoP, £
No Change McAuley WBA B, £
Down Johnson WOL B, £
Up Vermaelen ARS C
Down Enrique LIV B, VsX
Down Assou-Ekotto TOT A, VsX

Midfielders

Player Club Factors
No Change Bale TOT A, VsX
No Change Dempsey FUL A, Vs, OoP
No Change Silva MCI A, Vs
No Change Sessegnon SUN A, £
No Change Valencia MUN A, VsX
No Change Walters STO B, Vs, OoP, £
Up Moses WIG B, Vs, OoP, £
Up McClean SUN A, £
No Change Sinclair SWA B, VsX, £
Up Ben Arfa NEW B, Vs, Rest, OoP
Down Mata CHE C
Up Barton QPR B, Vs
Up Sigurdsson SWA B, VsX, £
No Change Ireland AVL B, Vs, Rest, £
No Change Donovan EVE B, VsX
No Change Morrison WBA B, £
Up Buzsaky QPR B, Vs, Rest, Inj, £
Up Murphy FUL B, Vs

Forwards

Player Club Factors
No Change van Persie ARS B
No Change Agüero MCI C, Vs
Up Ba NEW C, Vs
No Change Zamora QPR B, Vs
Up Dzeko MCI C, Vs, Rest
Up Bent AVL A, Vs
Up Morison NOR B, £
Down Fletcher WOL B, £
No Change Rooney MUN C, VsX, Inj
Down Sturridge CHE C
Down Welbeck MUN A, VsX, Rest, £
No Change Crouch STO B, Vs
No Change Adebayor TOT C, VsX
Up Odemwingie WBA C, Vs, Rest
Up Keane AVL A, Vs, £

Selection Factors

A, B, C Current Form
Vs Favourable Fixtures
VsX Unfavourable Fixtures
Rest Rotation Risk
Inj Injured/Returning from Injury
OoP Out of Position
£ Potential Bargain
Sus Suspended/Near Suspension

Suspension Tightrope

Player Team YC
Lowe BLA 9
Terry CHE 8
Barton QPR 8
Cattermole SUN 8
Song ARS 7
Meireles CHE 7
Fellaini EVE 7
Huth STO 7
Shawcross STO 7
Caldwell WIG 7
Henry WOL 7
N'Zonzi BLA 6
Cole CHE 6
Luiz CHE 6
Lucas LIV 6
Barry MCI 6
Naughton NOR 6
Larsson SUN 6
Hunt WOL 6

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