FPL Q&A: Villa or Bournemouth + plans for Gameweek 29

Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar hosts the second of two Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Q&As ahead of Gameweek 25. Here, the focus is on Aston Villa and Bournemouth assets, with part one discussing the Assistant Manager chip.

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Q: Morgan Rogers (£5.6m) to a Bournemouth midfielder, or hold him for this Double Gameweek? Who would be the best Cherries option?

Q: What do you think about doubling or even tripling up on Bournemouth’s midfield?

(via WEAK BECOME HEROS and FPL VIRGIN)

A: I think Rogers is an easy hold for the double, hence I’ll get the easiest question from a tough set out of the way.

Perhaps there’s a question to be asked about buying Rogers over a Bournemouth midfielder, though. After Villa’s double, they play Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Brentford before blanking in Gameweek 29. Chelsea have been quite leaky of late, so I don’t mind that fixture as much but Palace look much stronger defensively and the other one is sandwiched between Champions League knockout matches.

So assuming that you plan to not Free Hit in Gameweek 29 but still keep the likes of Mohamed Salah (£13.7m), Alexander Isak (£9.5m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) though their blank, it’ll require a Rogers sale soon after buying him. That seems a bit wasteful, considering that Bournemouth essentially have the same number of fixtures over this five-Gameweek period and could easily match Rogers in the first one. In that case, I think I would go directly to Andoni Iraola’s side, who visit Southampton this week.

In terms of ranking the Bournemouth midfield trio, it reminds me of a few seasons ago when we had to pick between Brighton and Hove Albion’s Solly March (£6.5m), Alexis Mac Allister (£6.2m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£6.3m). They each have their own merits and should score similarly over a longer time period.

However, I would rank them as Justin Kluivert (£5.9m), then Dango Ouattara (£5.1m), then Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m). Bournemouth win a lot of penalties for Kluivert, who also takes corners from one side. His spot in the team looks secure after recent exploits.

Team-mate Ouattara is playing out of position as a forward and, with Evanilson’s (£5.6m) return date still uncertain, he has a very high ceiling. As for Semenyo, he has the highest shot volume and expected minutes of the trio.

That’s why I think doubling up on this midfield is a great idea, given their form, fixtures and cheap prices. Grabbing all three is a step too far, mind.

Q: Move Anthony Gordon (£7.6m) to Kluivert or Isak to Ollie Watkins (£8.9m)?

Q: Which Aston Villa assets are worth bringing in? Any defenders?

(via THE RED DEVIL and @FPL_Marathon)

A: Easy part of the question first – avoid the Villa defence entirely.

And if I were to pick one asset from their attack, it would be Rogers, largely because of the scheduling.

Unai Emery’s team has a free midweek before the first Gameweek 25 fixture against Ipswich Town. That’s on 15 February, before playing Liverpool (19 February), Chelsea (22 February) and Crystal Palace (25 February).

Their FA Cup fifth-round clash with Cardiff City will be around 1 March, where Emery might choose to rotate. Then it’s Brentford on 8 March, between two Champions League games.

That’s a lot of fixtures. Looking purely at upcoming league encounters, that’s four matches between 15 – 25 February.

As per Emery’s last press conference, Watkins has missed training due to an adductor problem but should be back outside by Ipswich. While Villa are admittedly short of forward options, I remain sceptical of his minutes over these 10 days.

We don’t have any clear details about the severity of his injury and, while his starts may not be in question, I do see his minutes being managed with Marcus Rashford (£6.6m) and Donyell Malen (£5.5m) capable of occupying the centre-forward role. Like Rogers, it’s a transfer in and a transfer out.

If you can buy Watkins for someone such as Joao Pedro (£5.5m), I approve of the move. But selling Isak for Watkins seems risky, given the Swedish international’s outstanding form. His fixture against Manchester City is nowhere near as off-putting as it used to be and he could easily outscore Watkins over the next three Gameweeks.

As well as that, there’s likely a huge value loss on Isak and you’ll want him back after Blank Gameweek 29 because Newcastle United look set to double in either Gameweek 33 or 36.

I recommend moving Gordon to Kluivert – or even Rogers – a lot more than selling Isak to Watkins.

Q: Many managers probably have triple Liverpool, plus numerous names from Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa that also blank in Gameweek 29. So is it better to capitalise on this Double Gameweek, with a plan to Free Hit in Gameweek 29, or ride this out with minimal Villa, instead using transfers to prepare for the blank?

A: Several big teams like Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have already been eliminated from the FA Cup, which could make Blank Gameweek 34 more manageable. Therefore, on the face of it, a Gameweek 29 Free Hit suddenly looks more viable than before.

Those managers planning to play through Gameweek 29 without a chip will be restricted by budget. Names like Salah, Isak, Gordon and Alexander-Arnold will be expensive bench-warmers. This then makes it difficult to buy Arsenal and Man City premium picks. So there’s an advantage of Free Hitting at that point.

If you intend to have lots from Liverpool, Newcastle, Palace and Villa, I would indeed look to capitalise on it. A Gameweek 29 Free Hit makes sense, as both the Magpies and the Eagles have great fixtures on either side of the blank.