With just four Gameweeks left of the season, Fantasy managers are looking at every viable option available as a means to climb up the rankings and win that crucial mini-league title. Many will be throwing caution to the wind at this point in order to claw back their rivals’ leads and, with plenty of double Gameweeks on the horizon, even Aston Villa’s assets are coming under scrutiny.
Let’s face it – the midlands outfit have hardly been the most potent of Fantasy sides this term. The fact that Gabby Agbonlahor is still their top scoring player despite returning a single assist since Gameweek 11 speaks volumes for their insipid season. As the likes of Wigan have recently shown, however, there’s potential near the bottom of the table as teams scrap for survival and, with two home clashes in Gameweek 35, Villa are blinking – albeit briefly – on Fantasy managers’ radars ahead of the weekend’s schedule.
The hunt for options amongst the midlands squad leads us to James Collins. A look at his recent home performances highlights the fact that the Villa centre-half has returned at least six points in two of his last three at Villa Park – a clean sheet against Fulham and a goal against Chelsea. While Villa may have shipped four at United last weekend, they’ll be more optimistic heading into their games against Sunderland and Bolton – Martin O’Neill’s side have failed to score in their last three, while Bolton have been almost as poor in attack, with no goals in their previous two matches.
So far this week, over 10,000 Fantasy managers have taken a punt on the 5.3 priced defender, an indication of the faith held in his potential. Collins’ game also seems suited to the EA SPORTS PPI scoring system; he’s picked up a total of 12 bonus points over the course of the campaign – only six defenders have earned more this term.
With regular sidekick Richard Dunne still out with a collarbone injury, Collins’ resilience and will-to-win in the heart of the Villains backline will be key over these next crucial two matches. McLeish will be more than aware that back-to-back victories would all but clinch their survival and somewhat endear him to the home faithful, thus relieving the pressure ahead of their remaining three fixtures (wba, TOT, nor).
