Gameweek 12 has drawn to a close, and all in all, it was a pretty good one for me.
A total of 75 points has seen my overall rank rise to 57,377, and though it’s early days, it’s been a positive start.
Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) led the way with 16 captain points but there were also returns for Ben Foster (£4.1m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.8m), Antonio Rudiger (£5.9m), Joao Cancelo (£6.6m) and Adam Armstrong (£6.0m), who has started to pick up some form in recent weeks.
Now, as focus shifts to Gameweek 13, I thought I’d write-up some observations from Steven Gerrard’s first match in charge of Aston Villa, plus my own transfer/team plans for the weekend.
VILLA UNDER GERRARD – FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Steven Gerrard got off to a winning start at Aston Villa on Saturday, with a 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion. Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation, Gerrard’s preferred shape during his time at Rangers, Villa were much improved, especially at the back. As a result, they limited Graham Potter’s side to just 0.52 expected goals (xG) – their second lowest xG total of the season so far – with 0.28 of that figure arriving from one Tariq Lamptey (£4.4m) attempt during the first-half.
While Albion had a lot of the ball with 63% possession, they rarely looked like scoring, something Gerrard touched on after the game:
“Brighton had a lot of possession, but it was in the areas we wanted them to have the ball, so I’m really pleased for the players, proud of them, but it’s only a start, we need to go and back it up now.”
Ollie Watkins (£7.3m) and Tyrone Mings (£4.9m) got the goals on the day, but which players could benefit most from Gerrard’s appointment in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
Aston Villa’s average position map v Brighton and Hove Albion in Gameweek 12
