Villa and Southampton share the Monday night spoils in a 1-1 draw at the midlands. Gabby Agbonlahor grabs his third of the season before a late Nathaniel Clyne strike denies the hosts all three points.
Agbonlahor the Villains’ Hero
The frontman capitalised on an error from Fraser Forster to notch his first goal since Gameweek 4 last night. Agbonlahor’s pace posed the Saints backline problems aplenty during the first period in particular and his strike means he’s now scored 50% (three of six) of his side’s goals this season. Given that Villa have netted just twice in the last eight matches, they’ll need to do far more to persuade us of investing – with Burnley, Palace, Leicester and West Brom in the next four, though, the fixtures are on their side, whilst Christian Benteke’s return from suspension in Gameweek 14 against the Eagles should help Paul Lambert’s cause.
Saints Full-Backs in the Points
Despite conceding for the first time in five league matches, Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand still delivered for their Fantasy owners in the Villa Park encounter. The duo’s attacking forays proved vital for the Saints’ equaliser as Clyne lashed home his second goal of the season thanks to Bertrand’s cutback from the left – the duo now sit second and third for defenders in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game.
With 32% and 22% ownership respectively, Clyne and Bertrand are amongst the four most popular defenders in the FPL game but as the fixtures now take a turn for the worse, many are weighing up their options. Given that Ronald Koeman’s side face City, Arsenal, United and Everton in the next five Gameweeks now, the full-backs will need to continue their attacking raids, with defensive returns looking far less certain.
Tadic and Pelle Stumble Again
Hopes were high for the popular Southampton pair after the likes of Ron Vlaar, Philippe Senderos and Nathan Baker were ruled out through injury in the heart of the Villa defence. Pelle had one of his poorest matches of the season, however, and fired just a single attempt on goal – he has now failed to register one shot on target in the last four Gameweeks and with the likes of Charlie Austin, Danny Inga and Wilfried Bony appearing on our radars, last night could prove his farewell bow in many Fantasy teams. The second most popular forward in the FPL game with 31% ownership, Pelle’s appeal is also dampened by the fact he remains on four yellow cards – just one caution shy of a single-match ban.
Tadic’s place in our squads is also uncertain. After blanking in seven of the first 11 Gameweeks, he needed a big performance last night to stay in our Fantasy plans – another lacklustre blank suggests there’d be no surprise to see him appear amongst the most transferred out before the next deadline is upon us.
