Villa after five gameweeks
Aston Villa are sixteenth after Gameweek 5 with one win in five. They lost 4-0 at Brighton on the opening day, then to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, drew 0-0 at Hull, and won for the first time at Tottenham in GW5, 3-2. Four goals scored, nine conceded, one clean sheet.
The summer explains most of it. Ollie Watkins has joined Al Hilal, Morgan Rogers and goalkeeper Emi Martínez are at Chelsea, Ezri Konsa is at Arsenal and Lucas Digne at Paris Saint-Germain. Unai Emery’s system is unchanged, but the players who scored in it have gone, and the Champions League midweeks are now arriving on top.
Buendía is the Villa pick
Emiliano Buendía is Villa’s top FPL scorer, first in the official penalty order and first on direct free kicks. At under £6m and owned by about one manager in a hundred, he is the only Villa player whose role justifies a transfer: when Villa score, he is the most likely player to be involved.
Nicolas Jackson has started four of five up front and is second on penalties, but has scored once. John McGinn has started every game, has two assists and is second on corners — a nailed, cheap fifth midfielder rather than a pick for points.
Goalkeeper and defence
Zion Suzuki has started four of the five games and is Villa’s goalkeeper; Marcel Bizot started the opener and is out with a back injury. Matty Cash takes the corners but has started three games, and Ian Maatsen has an ankle injury with no return date.
With one clean sheet in five and a Champions League schedule, no Villa defender is worth a transfer. Suzuki is the exception only as a cheap starting keeper — a bench option who plays, not a points engine.
Villa’s next five
After the international break Villa play Brentford (H), Newcastle (A), Manchester City (H), Fulham (H) and Manchester United (A). The FPL difficulty ratings put City and United at 4 and Fulham at 2.
One Villa player is the most you need, and only if you want the differential: Buendía. A page that invented a second Villa pick to fill the space would not be doing you a favour. The live table on this page carries each player’s price, ownership and flag.