ASTON VILLA are very much in the Dream Team spotlight right now.
Bruno Fernandes (£6.4m) was the most popular recruit prior to the Gameweek 26 deadline but the next four players in the list were all Villa Park residents: Ollie Watkins (£5.2m), Marcus Rashford (£3.5m), Morgan Rogers (£3.9m) and Youri Tielemans (£4m).
Smart loan moves[/caption]
Generally speaking, the Villains have already justified their recent popularity surge as several players cashed in against Cardiff on Friday night.
None more so than Marco Asensio (£3.5m), who also experienced an ownership increase before the favourable FA Cup match-up against Championship opposition.
The Spanish loanee bagged a brace, his second in three games, to land a 17-point haul – only Kevin De Bruyne (£5.2m) earned more points among all assets over the weekend.
Asensio has scored four goals in his last 194 minutes on the pitch[/caption]
Similarly, Ian Maatsen (£2.6m) is the second-best performer among defenders this Gameweek at present having banked 11 points on Friday night.
While Rashford leads the way among forwards with 11 points following his fourth assist in his last five outings – he also registered three shots on target, two big chances created and a bonus point.
Watkins also provided an assist on the night and notched eight points for his efforts.
With a Champions League round of 16 away day to Club Brugge still to come on Tuesday night, gaffers who stocked up on Villa assets for Gameweek 26 are likely to be immensely satisfied.
Watkins is almost guaranteed to start in Belgium on Tuesday night[/caption]
Unai Emery’s side are one of just two teams with two fixtures this Gameweek, with Manchester United being the other.
Watkins and company will also pull double duty in Gameweek 27: Brentford (a) and Club Brugge (h).
However, Dream Team bosses should be aware that Villa will BLANK in Gameweek 28, as will Crystal Palace, these being the teams originally due to face Carabao Cup finalists Liverpool and Newcastle.
This means managers currently heavy on Villa players will need an exit strategy.
A failure to plan ahead puts on at risk of being lumbered with multiple non-active players in Gameweek 28, which could undo the good work of Asensio, Rashford, etc.
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