Aston Villa has scored 12 goals so far this season. Twelve. In 25 matches!
It’s to the point where I’ve started to make calls on the whereabouts of Christian Benteke. The Belgian has scored twice in 16 appearances, after scoring 29 goals in the last two seasons. Whatever Paul Lambert was doing, or was trying to do, it’s clear the Aston Villa players lost faith in his philosophy. With Lambert gone, we not turn to Tim Sherwood to see if he can get the most out of the Belgian front man.
When Sherwood took over at Tottenham in December of 2013 he revived the career of Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo striker was frozen out of the Spurs squad before Sherwood’s appointment at White Hart Lane. Adebayor went on to score 14 goals the rest of the way. Will Benteke have similar success? It’s doubtful, as the supporting cast at Villa is not quite near the talent level of Spurs. However, the Belgian has nowhere to go but up. From a fantasy standpoint, Benteke could be a bargain at 7.07M if Sherwood is able to get the Belgian back to his goal scoring ways.
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Here’s what else I’m looking at for Week 26 in fantasy football.
GOALKEEPERS
Thibault Courtois (5.92M) – Chelsea: The Blues’ defence has not been nearly as stingy since the turn of the calendar. However, the Belgian remains a bargain and a home game with Burnley this weekend is a good bet for a clean sheet.
DEFENDERS
Paul McShane (5.07M) – Hull City: The Irish defender is the cheapest of the Tigers likely to start this weekend at home to QPR. The chances of the Hoops winning two straight road games? Yeah, I agree, not likely.
Kurt Zouma (5.07M) – Chelsea: Gary Cahill continues to struggle, while Zouma has impressed for the most part when put into the starting XI. The young Frenchman could very well be the next great defender of the Premier League.
Seamus Coleman (11.7M) – Everton: After a not so delightful minus-3 showing last week, Coleman has become more affordable. What makes him so attractive is his obvious offensive capabilities, but also Everton’s re-discovered defensive strength. Four straight clean sheets for the Toffees and a home match with Leicester City this weekend. No better time than now to spend on Coleman.
Jores Okore (7.96M) – Aston Villa: He’s been the lone bright spot for Villa season to this point. The Dane is developing into a very reliable source of fantasy points, averaging seven points per week.
MIDFIELDERS
Christian Eriksen (13.52M) – Tottenham: Spurs are home to struggling West Ham who recently shipped four goals to West Brom in the FA Cup. A cheaper midfield option for Spurs could be Moussa Dembele (4.54M) although he is not a sure bet to start like Eriksen.
Yaya Toure (11.55M) – Manchester City: The Ivorian is back! Fresh off winning the Africa Cup of Nations, and ready to get Manchester City back into the title race as they welcome Newcastle to the Etihad. The Magpies have allowed the fourth most number of goals in the Premier League this season.
Dusan Tadic (10.23M) – Southampton: A headline match-up this week sees the Saints hosting Liverpool. While Liverpool have looked better of late, the return to European football could see them suffering once again.
Juan Cuadrado (3.07M) – Chelsea: I’m a big believer in the Colombian. It’s only a matter of time before he gets settled into Chelsea’s system.
Theo Walcott (9.24M) – Arsenal: He’s hit the ground running upon returning from injury. The Gunners visit Crystal Palace who’ve kept just one clean sheet in their past seven matches.
FORWARDS
Brown Ideye (7.17M) – West Bromwich Albion: The Baggies’ record summer signing is finally coming good. Four goals in three matches isn’t bad, and the Nigerian is priced right for a match at Sunderland on Saturday—the Black Cats have won just two games on home turf this season.
Dame N’Doye (7.91M) – Hull City: The January signing put up 21 fantasy points in the Tigers’ win a couple of weeks ago. He has done nothing but impress upon arrival to the KC Stadium.
Romelu Lukaku (11.31M) – Everton: Lukaku was on top form against Chelsea in Everton’s last match. All he was missing was a goal to cap off that performance. I’m betting on those goals to start coming for the Belgian.
My starting XI: Courtois; Coleman, Okore, Cresswell; Cuadrado, Walcott, Eriksen, Tadic; Lukaku, Benteke, Aguero
