Premier League: Three reasons behind Aston Villa’s remarkable rise during the 2020/21 season

Dean Smith’s Aston Villa are certainly enjoying the rollercoaster of a season they are currently experiencing, as they sit in eighth and have two games in hand to still play. At the moment, they are only six points off fourth-place Chelsea, and with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur having quite the on and off campaign, it would not be a total surprise to see some of the mid-table teams making a breakthrough of their own and finishing in the top half of the league.

Having a glance at the Premier League table, the competition and race to finish in the Champions League and Europa League has been exciting and thrilling for the neutrals, purely because of the fact that Liverpool are having a below-par campaign, and Manchester City have had a slow start at the beginning of the season, two main teams who are normally sky high above the rest of the league.

As we have already passed gameweek 24 of the league campaign, there is enough time for further disappointments and upsets to be produced, which could work in the favour for a football club like Aston Villa, who have not finished in the top half of the Premier League since the 2010/11 season. In the meantime, the Villains will be looking to take it one game at a time from now till the very end.

So, the main question now is; what are the key factors behind Aston Villa’s incredible season so far?

The Jack Grealish show

Having directly contributed to 16 out of Aston Villa’s 36 league goals, Jack Grealish is on the form of his life as he is showing to be one of the best players in both the Premier League and in Europe. With his ability to dominate down the left flank, his pure quality to create key chances after key chances with ease, and being regarded as the most fouled player in Europe, he’s getting the weekly attention and well-deserved praise that he should have been receiving a very long time ago, in all honesty.

Since the lack of goals was a huge issue for the club in their battle for survival last season, Aston Villa have managed to impressively improve on this department with the arrivals of Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley, who have the perfect understanding with Grealish. And because of this magnificent trio, especially due to the club captain, the side have been able to demolish Liverpool at home as well as confidently beat the likes of Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Brom this term.

Second best defence in the league, joint with Chelsea 

One of the few areas that the side were very poor at handling in the previous campaign was the defensive phase, as the Villains conceded 65 league goals throughout the Premier League 2019/20 season, with only 20th place Norwich City conceding more goals than them. However, six months or so forward, Dean Smith’s men have the second best defence in the league along with Chelsea, clearly demonstrating how far they have come, from losing 1-6 at home to Man City, losing 1-4 at home and 4-0 away to Leicester last season, to conceding 24 goals in 22 league games so far this campaign.

The side’s defensive improvement does correlate with the first factor, the Jack Grealish show, as both himself and Ollie Watkins are superb at holding up the ball in the final third of the pitch, leading to the team protecting the ball high up the pitch and conceding less chances. Not only that, but with the crucial arrivals of Emiliano Martinez and Matthew Cash in the summer, as well as the consistent displays of Ezri Konsa, Matt Targett and Tyrone Mings, the side have a proper unit in the backline.

Emiliano Martinez is proving to be a superb signing

Emiliano Martinez, who arrived at Villa Park in mid-September from Arsenal, is proving to be worth every single penny of the £17million fee that the Villains had paid for the Argentine shot-stopper. The 28-year-old has kept the second most clean sheets (12) and the fourth most saves (84) in the Premier League, showing how much impact and influence an individual can provide on his own, as he continues to show that his former club have made a mistake in preferring Bernd Leno over him.

If Martinez can remain consistent from now till the end of the season as well as help Aston Villa to a finish in the top half of the league table, it would not be an actual surprise to see him being mentioned as one of the few goalkeepers to be placed into the Premier League Team of the Season. Not only that, with the current Argentina squad consisting of goalkeepers such as Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin and Esteban Andrada, Emilino Martinez most certainly deserves a regular call up and should be the main option as the country’s number one keeper, especially with his fine form.

Best Premier League Players so far- 2020/21

With no Premier League football this past weekend, it took a rest for the FA Cup, no fantasy points were earned or lost. But have you wondered which players are actually performing the best so far this season in their desired roles?

Below we will take the best 2 players for each position and review their seasons so far. Do you have them in your team, or do you need them? Let’s take a look.

Goalkeeper:

1. Damien Martinez- Aston Villa 38pts

Nobody expected Damien Martinez to be amongst the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season. But he has amassed an incredible 38 points and has kept the most clean sheets of any goal keeper with 8 so far. His cost is incredible too, he is just 1m and he has to be the bargain of the season so far.

2. Ederson Moraes- Manchester City 38pts

Together with Liverpool’s Alisson, Ederson has conceded the least number of goals with 12 so far for a goalkeeper that is playing full time. Ederson has proved to be one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and has kept seven clean sheets so far. He has played one game less than Martinez so could equal his 8 clean sheets in his next game.

Defence:

1. Ben Chilwell- Chelsea 38pts

It’s impressive to think this is Ben Chilwell’s debut season with Chelsea and he is the clubs top defender and the top in the Premier League based on the fantasy rankings. The former Leicester player has helped to keep six clean sheets, scored 2 goals and assisted in a further 4 more.

2. Kurt Zouma- Chelsea 37pts

Chelsea have had their ups and downs this season but they have the 2 best performing defenders in the Premier League. Kurt Zouma is a staple fixture in the Blues side now and has helped to keep six clean sheets. Though he hasn’t made any assists as of yet he has scored 4 goals already this season and for a defender that is an impressive return. Zouma is valued at 6m.

Midfield:

1. Mohamed Salah- Liverpool 68pts

Mohamed Salah has been stunning once again as he tries to win back to back league titles with Liverpool. He already has 68 points and has scored 13 goals and assisted in a further 3. He’s also been involved in helping to back track and keep 4 clean sheets so far. Salah is obviously one of the best players in the Premier League- and his price is not cheap, he is valued at 14m.

2. Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 61pts

What would Manchester United do without Bruno Fernandes? He has hands down been United’s most consistent player since Cristiano Ronaldo played for the Red Devils. Fernandes seems to be involved in goals every week and could well go down as a legend with the club, and he’s only been their less than two seasons. Fernandes has scored 11 goals and assisted in another seven, and he has really helped to turn the fortunes around for the famous club.

Striker:

1. Harry Kane- Tottenham 61pts

In defence it’s an all Chelsea affair, but up front it’s all about Tottenham. Harry Kane has been on fire as Spurs attempt to win silverware this season. Kane has scored 10 goals and assisted in 11. That is a phenomenal return when you think he has been involved in 21 league goals and we are not even at the halfway stage of the season. Kane could well be having his best season yet.

2. Heung-Min Son- Tottenham 60pts

Heung-Min Son is just a point behind Harry Kane in the fantasy rankings. Both players have started 16 games this season and Son has scored 12 goals and had 5 assists. Son has been at the fore front of Spurs’ plans for the last 18 months but this season in particular he seems to have gone up another level and is one of the most deadliest strikers in Europe now.

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Man Utd: The Red Devils hold on to pick up the three key points at home to Aston Villa

With Everton dropping points at home to West Ham and the fixture of the weekend being between Chelsea and Manchester City in gameweek 17, it allows Manchester United to take the advantage of the current situation should they beat Aston Villa, who have one of the best away records in the league. Dean Smith’s men have had quite the turnaround in the last six months of football, from finishing one point above the relegation zone last year, to sitting in seventh place at the moment.

Looking at the match as a whole, the visitors had edged out the hosts with the control of the game and the possession of the ball, especially in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the match, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side intended on defending deep and holding onto the lead whilst the Villains were piling on the pressure and were showing good moments through Jack Grealish and Matthew Cash.

The Red Devils were the better and stronger team in the first half of the match, showing good composure on and off the ball, but were lacking the cutting edge in the final third of the pitch. However, the moment that the home side came in the 40th minute of the game, as Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross from the right flank was met by the head Anthony Martial, which was guided into the back of the net, with the questions being raised of how quickly Aston Villa were caught off guard.

The intensity continued after the half-time break and the attacking moves by both teams were much better, with two big chances being created for each team. Villa were able to pick up the equaliser in the 55th minute, as the side took a quick free kick out onto the left side into Jack Grealish, and his low driven cross was perfectly met by Bertrand Traore, who slotted the ball past David De Gea.

Manchester United regained their lead as Paul Pogba was brought down by Douglas Luiz in the penalty box, leading to Bruno Fernandes stepping up to take the penalty and scoring his 11th league goal of the season. With this result, it allows the Red Devils to remain in second place and level on points with league leaders Liverpool, and Dean Smith’s Aston Villa have now drop to seventh place.

Here are the three things we learnt from United’s latest league fixture…

The French duo are slowly returning back to their best

It’s not been the perfect of starts to the season so far, for both Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, with the former lacking in confidence and failing to show his consistency in front of goal, and the latter is finally in a healthy state and is distanced away from any defensive duties. If the Frenchman can perform to the highest level and on a regular basis for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, it could be the difference of finishing strongly in the top four positions to pushing for a crucial title challenge.

As Edinson Cavani is unavailable due to a three-game suspension, it was important for Martial to take this opportunity and get back into goal-scoring form, which he did when he gave his side the much needed lead in the 40th minute of the game. Now, focusing more on Pogba, who played in a preferred position of his on the left-wing, where he went on to win a penalty, completed two key passes, created one big chance as well as completed 37 accurate passes out of an attempted 48.

Eric Bailly continues to perform with back-to-back dominant performances

With Victor Lindelof currently on the sidelines with an ongoing back injury, a lot of doubts and questions were raised on how the partnership between Eric Bailly and Harry Maguire would turn out to be, especially since the last time they partnered together, it led to a 6-1 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur. However, the pair in the heart of defence have been top notch and are complimenting each other well, keeping two clean sheets in their last four games in all competition.

The Ivory Coast international’s presence and composure in the backline has proven to be very influential to the manager and most importantly to his team-mates, as the team does not show any nerve-wrecking or inconsistent moments when he is in the starting line-up. Due to his burst of pace, passing ability on the ball and his intelligence to read the game, it allows the side’s full-backs and the midfielders to play higher up the pitch, with the solid protection that Eric Bailly kindly provides.

Manchester United are finally looking to be heading into the right direction

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United are now level on points with league leaders Liverpool, showing the incredible turnaround they have had to their 2020/21 season, following the poor start that they had as well as being eliminated from the Champions League group stages. Since then, the Red Devils have gone a good run in the league and have not lost a league game since November.

If each player can continue to contribute effectively in the right areas of the pitch, like they are currently doing so, from Eric Bailly and Luke Shaw to Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, then the only way is up for Manchester United. As long as the board and Ed Woodward can deliver one or two players to Solskjaer this month, the football club can finish the season in high flying colours.

Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 15

The games are coming in thick and fast in the Premier League which is the only domestic major league in Europe that continues throughout the holiday season.

There have been surprise draws like Liverpool dropping points against West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal finally won a game. Everton and Leicester are in good form. So let’s see which players made the final cut this past weekend.

Goalkeeper: Illan Meslier- Leeds 7pts

Leeds beat Burnley in a very close game that finished 1-0. Meslier was very busy having to stop six shots on target and keep very aware. He earned his 7 points and now has -5 points in total and will hope to move that into a positive soon.

Defender: Ruben Dias- Manchester City 5pts

Ruben Dias has really landed on his feet in his role as one of Manchester City’s best defenders. Dias has now helped to keep seven clean sheets and earned another 5 points at the weekend to put his total to 32 so far for this season.

Defender: Ola Aina- Fulham 5pts

Ola Aina isn’t a household name as he battles with Fulham this season but he kept his third clean sheet of the season as Fulham drew 0-0 with the in form Southampton. Aina now has 15 points and his value is 4.5m.

Defender: Ryan Bertrand- Southampton 5pts

Ryan Bertrand has earned 13 points so far and he was at the heart of a Saints defence who had to keep alert against an inform Fulham team with the game finishing 0-0.

Defender: Nathan Ake- Manchester City 5pts

New signing Nathan Ake only has seven points so far but has only started 5 games but he played very well in keeping the defence compact as Manchester City eased to a 2-0 win against Newcastle at the weekend.

Midfielder: Bertrand Traore- Aston Villa 6pts

Bertrand Traore is really in form these past few weeks and the Villa midfielder scored a goal as his club beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in a one sided game.

Midfielder: Ilkay Gundogan- Manchester City 6pts

Ilkay Gundogan scored his 2nd goal of the season and the opening one as Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-0 to move dangerously up the table after a slow start to the season.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 5pts

Fernandes keeps putting in great displays and he earned a further 5 points at the weekend as Manchester United drew 2-2 with Leicester in an absorbing top of the table clash. Fernandes scored his 10th goal of the season and has 53 points overall and he is the 2nd best ranked midfielder in the fantasy rankings.

Midfielder: Sadio Mane- Liverpool 4pts

Sadio Mane scored Liverpool’s opening goal and he now has six so far. Although the Reds could only draw 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion, Mane put in a solid display and seems to be getting better week by week.

Striker: Gylfi Sigurdsson- Everton 4pts

Sigurdsson scored a very important goal as Everton beat Sheffield United 1-0. It was only the players 2nd goal of the season, but meant all 3 points for the club at the weekend and took Everton into 2nd place.

Striker: Anwar El Ghazi- Aston Villa 4pts

El Ghazi is turning out to be the surprise striker in the Premier League this season and the player is in form. He now has 4 goals for the season and has an overall points total of 16. El Ghazi scored Villa’s final goal as they brushed aside Crystal Palace 3-0.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players from Weeks 13 and 14

Two lots of Premier League games have been played in less than a week and the overall winners seem to be the current champions Liverpool. The Reds have pulled away by 4 points after they beat Tottenham in a crucial game at Anfield and then destroyed Crystal Palace 7-0.

Tottenham have had a week to forget with defeat at Liverpool and then they lost against Leicester and have slipped down to 5th place. Everton have got back on form and have won 3 games in a row and Leicester have gone 2nd on 27 points with 3 wins from their last four.

Let’s take a look below at the players that have made the final team for week’s 13 and 14.

Goalkeeper: Damien Martinez- Aston Villa 14pts

Only one team kept 2 clean sheets in the week and that was Aston Villa. Goalkeeper Damien Martinez earned 7 points each as he kept a clean sheet against Burnley and West Bromwich Albion. Martinez has kept seven clean sheets so far.

Defender: Matt Targett- Aston Villa 10pts

Matt Targett has been a rock in defence in Aston Villa’s last 2 games which has seen them earn 4 points from the week. The latest victory being a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the derby game.

Defender: Trent Alexander-Arnold- Liverpool 7pts

Liverpool have been superb this week and Alexander-Arnold earned yet more points as he kept a clean sheet as Liverpool destroyed Crystal Palace 7-0. He has helped keep three clean sheets so far.

Defender: Tyrone Mings-Aston Villa 9pts

Tyrone Mings has made it again in the best team of the week and played his part as Villa drew against Burnley 0-0 and then beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0. Mings now has 34 points overall and is Villa’s best defender so far.

Defender: Andrew Robertson-Liverpool 7pts

Another cool and calculated performance from the Scotsman. Robertson has had to do even better this season with Liverpool having so many injuries. He played his part in the Tottenham and Crystal Palace victories very well.

Midfielder: Mohamed Salah- Liverpool 12pts

Mohamed Salah is always a danger which he reminded the Premier League once again. Salah scored 3 goals in the two games during the week. Opening the scoring against Tottenham which set up the win and then scoring two goals past Crystal Palace as the Reds won 7-0. Salah is now top goalscorer with 13 goals.

Midfielder: Roberto Firmino-Liverpool 12pts

Roberto Firmino has been quiet for his standards this season but played his part well in the crucial win over Tottenham as he scored the last minute winner and he earned a huge 12 points this week alone. His value is 9.5m.

Midfielder: Scott McTominay-Manchester United 10pts

Scott McTominay had an excellent game at the weekend as he earned 10 points by scoring 2 very early goals against Leeds United. He set up a later goal too as Manchester United ran out 6-2 winners and they are the in form team in the league right now.

Midfielder: Bertrand Traore- Aston Villa 10pts

Bertrand Traore starred in the Midlands derby as Aston Villa beat their fierce rivals West Bromwich Albion 3-0. Traore set up the first goal and then scored the 2nd in a memorable game for the midfielder. His value is 8.5m.

Striker: David McGoldrick- Sheffield United 9pts

David McGoldrick assisted at the weekend to give Sheffield a point against Brighton- only their 2nd of the campaign. In the previous game he scored twice against Manchester United, so had a personal brilliant game, although the Blades lost 3-2.

Striker: Anthony Martial- Manchester United 10pts

Anthony Martial earned 10 points and got some critics off his back too. He assisted in an incredible 3 goals and scored once for his club over the past two games and was just brilliant as Manchester United beat Leeds United 6-2 at home. For the season that was Martial’s first contribution to United’s goals, perhaps that is the spark he needs.

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How Aston Villa have gone from near relegation to Champions League contenders in 4 months

Dean Smith has shown us many emotions in 2020, from near despair in July when the extended Premier League finished to utter jubilation just a few months later when Villa destroyed champions Liverpool 7-2. What everyone wants to know is, how has Smith been able to turn things around so much and so quickly?

Aston Villa’s status that they would remain in the Premier League was only confirmed on the last weekend of last season after they drew 1-1 at West Ham. The club finished with a total of 35 points and only earned 1 more point than 18th placed Bournemouth- even the goal difference was only 1 out so everything could have changed on that final weekend.

It is interesting to note though that Villa did go their last four games of the season unbeaten quite a mean feat for a team who lost 21 games. With Villa’s participation safe for this season, from the outside it seemed as though Dean Smith’s team would be amongst the favourites to be relegated this season, a kind of well done, but maybe last seasons escapade was simply a stay of execution.

And yet here we are in November of the new season and after 8 games Aston Villa are in 6th place. They have been a regular top four side too though faced back to back defeats recently and that looked like the call for them to start slipping down the league table. Villa’s last game was away to Arsenal who have improved this season, the script had been written that Villa would now lose 3 games in a row and their 15 minutes of fame was about to be quashed. But Villa had other thoughts and out played Arsenal winning that game 3-0. Now we probably have to take Smith’s side seriously. After all they come into this weekend having already beaten Arsenal, Leicester and Liverpool.

So what has been the turn around at the club? In the summer Villa made 3 interesting buys bringing in Bertrand Traore from Lyon for £17m, Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest for £14m and Ollie Watkins from Brentford for £28m. The fee they paid Brentford for Watkins certainly raised many eyebrows, not because it felt like a steep transfer for a player playing lower league but because of the anticipation of who Villa have just had the confidence to splash that amount of money on a lower league player. And of course the fee was a club record.

Well Watkins is repaying his managers faith and has scored 6 league goals in seven appearances including a perfect hat trick against none other than Liverpool in that infamous 7-2 win over the Reds.

But while Villa were happy to splash the cash spending over £70m once you take out Watkins it has actually been the players that were already at the club that have made the most impact. Stand up Jack Grealish, a player who has been hyped for several seasons, his only problem being that he was playing in the Championship and nobody could really tell if he had the right level for the Premier League. After a debut season in the top flight which only saw flashes of his brilliance he has really turned it on for this season.

Grealish has been Aston Villa’s number 1 outstanding player so far. The midfielder has scored 4 goals and assisted in another five and his value in the fantasy football league is just 3.5m and he has amassed a total of 33 points already. He has a new found hunger and loves his free role that Smith has given him as play maker.

Ross Barkley has been another brilliant signing, the former Everton player was struggling to make an impact at Chelsea but has already done more in his work rate with Aston Villa in a few months than a few seasons at Stamford Bridge. He also grabbed an all important 3 points with the only goal when Villa beat Leicester 1-0 at King Power Stadium.

The biggest change for Villa though seems to be in their attack minded tactics. Last season the club looked to afraid to come out and just hoped to settle for draws, but with the attacking players at their disposal Smith has adopted a rule of attack first, and it seems to be working.

On the change up Smith said: “We always felt that if we retained our Premier League status, we could be more strategic in our planning this year.”

Villa certainly have been and at home they have adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation, but don’t be fooled into thinking that Villa are playing 1 up front. All three players in midfield are very capable of switching to attack and that has been telling giving that the club have scored 18 goals so far this season, only Tottenham and Chelsea have netted more.

This weekend Aston Villa will play Brighton at home where they will be the favourites to win and if they do they would go into 2nd place, so there is all to play for and all eyes will be on Dean Smith’s side this season as they try to finish in a European place.

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The Best 11 Players in the Premier League 2020/21 so far

With the Premier League taking an extended break because of the international fixtures this is an opportunity to look at your fantasy football team and see who is doing the best and grabbing those all important points in the early stages of the Premier League campaign.

In a 4-4-2 formation we will look at the players who are performing the very best so far.

Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy- Chelsea 21pts

The injury to Kepa has given Edouard Mendy a life line at Chelsea and he has reacted in the best way possible with a terrific start to the campaign. Mendy has 21 points so far the most of any goalkeeper in the Premier League and has kept 3 clean sheets so far.

Defender: Ben Chilwell- Chelsea 24pts

Considering this is his first season with the Blues Ben Chilwell has been more than terrific and has stood out as one of Chelsea’s most important players so far this season. He has helped the club to 3 clean sheets so far but isn’t afraid to get involved in the action and has scored 2 goals and assisted in a further 2. His value is 6.5m.

Defender: Kurt Zouma- Chelsea 24pts

Kurt Zouma could well be having his best season as a player. At one point it felt that he could lose his place within the Chelsea team, so to come back and start the season the way he has has been impressive. Whilst forming a great partnership with Chilwell he has also scored 3 goals, again impressive for a defender.

Defender: Jannick Vestergaard- Southampton 24pts

Southampton have been a major surprise team in the Premier League this season and currently have the best form. Jannick Vestergaard has helped the Saints in keeping 4 clean sheets is valued at 6m and has also scored 2 goals already for the club this season.

Defender: Tyrone Mings- Aston Villa 22pts

Tyrone Mings has really turned his form around since last season. He has been the best overall defender at Aston Villa keeping 4 clean sheets and has also been tidy up front scoring goals too. He can be bought for just 4.5m.

Midfielder: Mohamed Salah- Liverpool 36pts

Like the last few seasons it’s been a terrific season so far for Mohamed Salah who again continues to light up the Premier League. Whilst it hasn’t been the greatest start for Liverpool they are still well within the mix and Salah has contributed by scoring 8 goals already.

Midfielder: Jack Grealish- Aston Villa 33pts

There is no doubt about it Jack Grealish is having his best season as a football player. He has been involved in 9 Aston Villa goals scoring 4 and assisting in 5 as the club have started well for this season and his value is incredible at just 3.5m.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 24pts

Bruno Fernandes is arguably Manchester United’s best signing in a decade, since Cristiano Ronado. He has scored 5 goals and made 3 assists in what has been a troubling start for the club, but Fernandes has been one of the best players in the Premier League.

Midfielder: Wilfried Zaha- Crystal Palace 24pts

Could this be Wilfried Zaha’s best season yet and a turning point in his career? Often a player who is touted at moving from Palace to one of the big six clubs in England he is certainly proving his credentials this season. Zaha has been Crystal Palace’s most effective player and has scored 5 goals and assisted in another two. His value is 8.5m.

Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 44pts

Harry Kane has been outstanding and Tottenham have been solid climbing into the top 2 clubs in the league. Kane already has 44 points and has scored 7 goals and assisted in another 8, he has been involved incredibly in 80% of Tottenham’s league goals this season. There is a reason then that his value is up at 14.5m.

Striker: Heung- Min Son- Tottenham 38pts

The fact that the two best striker positions in the league go to Tottenham players tells you everything you need to know about how the club have started the season. Heung-Min Son has scored one goal more than Kane with 8 and has assisted in another 2 goals. On his day there isn’t a better striker currently playing in Europe. Kane and Son must be amongst the most deadliest strike pair in European football.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players of Matchday 8

The Premier League’s top team keeps changing and throughout the weekend we saw Liverpool replaced by Southampton and then Leicester and the 2016 champions will be over the moon to be in front going into the November international break.

Liverpool could only draw 1-1 at Manchester City as Leicester beat Wolves. Everton continue to nosedive and lost their 3rd game in a row, this time at the hands of Manchester United where Edinson Cavani scored his first goal for the club. Aston Villa have bounced back in remarkable style by beating Arsenal 3-0 away from home, whilst Chelsea have made in roads into the top 5 as they battered Sheffield United 4-1.

Which players came out smelling of roses and made the final 11? Let’s take a look below.

Goalkeeper: Damien Martinez- Aston Villa 7pts

Damien Martinez has made the team of the weekend before and the Aston Villa keeper made it 4 clean sheets this season as Villa stunned Arsenal away from home and won the game 3-0. Arsenal were poor but Martinez still had a few crucial saves to make.

Defender: Matt Doherty- Tottenham 7pts

Matt Doherty earned 7 points at the weekend as Tottenham battled to a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. Doherty helped to keep a clean sheet and also assisted in Harry Kane’s winning goal for a perfect weekend for the player who now has 10 points overall and is rated the best defender at Tottenham currently in the fantasy football rankings.

Defender: Eric Dier- Tottenham 5pts

Eric Dier played a solid game, one of his best so far this season with Tottenham as he helped to keep a clean sheet as they beat Slaven Bilic’s West Brom 1-0. This is the 2nd game that Dier has been involved in helping Spurs to keep a clean sheet.

Defender: Tryone Mings- Aston Villa 5pts

Tyrone Mings is back in the team of the weekend after Aston Villa pulled off a great result beating Arsenal 3-0. Mings was great at the back and held the ball up well and of course helped to keep a clean sheet for Dean Smith’s side.

Defender: Christian Fuchs- Leicester 5pts

Christian Fuchs helped to keep Leicester’s 2nd clean sheet of the season as they battled to a 1-0 win over Wolves. Wolves remained a danger and had 7 attempts on goal but a defence led by Fuchs kept the visitors at bay.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 9pts

Bruno Fernandes has been on top of his game this season and last and his two goals in just 7 first half minutes brought back United to life to go 2-1 up against Everton. He then set up Edinson Cavani to score his debut goal and kill the game off at 3-1 to earn 9 points for the weekend. Fernandes now has 24 points overall and is valued at 8.5m.

Midfielder: Stuart Armstrong- Southampton 6pts

Stuart Armstrong now has 16 points after earning a further six at the weekend as his 2nd goal wrapped up the game for the inform Southampton as they eased to a win 2-0 win at home against Newcastle.

Midfielder: Ross Barkley- Aston Villa 4pts

Ross Barkley seems like a new player at Aston Villa and it was his assist that set up Villa for the win and their 2nd goal of 3. Barkley now has 14 points in total so far this season.

Midfielder: Jack Grealish- Aston Villa 4pts

Jack Grealish has 33 points in total for Aston Villa and is far and away the clubs best player in the fantasy rankings. Grealish was on hand to assist in the clubs 3rd goal as Villa stunned Arsenal and beat them 3-0.

Striker: Gabriel Jesus- Manchester City 4pts

Manchester City have really missed the services of Gabriel Jesus when he was injured but he’s back now and he scored the all important equaliser as City fell behind to Liverpool. The crunch game ended 1-1 and Jesus scored a glorious solo goal with class written all over it.

Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 4pts

It looked as if Tottenham’s game with West Bromwich Albion was going to end 0-0, that would have been a surprise but Harry Kane popped up to score the winner with just two minutes remaining. He now has 7 goals this season and is valued at 14.5m.

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Premier League Game of the Week: Aston Villa 3-4 Southampton

Aston Villa do love being involved in high scoring games and following their 7-2 win over Liverpool and a 3-0 defeat at home to Leeds United they followed that up with a 4-3 loss at home against Southampton.

It was an incredible match given that by the hour mark Southampton were 4-0 up at Villa Park and effectively the game was over. Though the Saints would go on to win the encounter they would have to endure a fright first- so has been this very unpredictable Premier League season.

Southampton believed that they had taken the lead as early as the 3rd minute through an Ezri Konsa own goal but in the build up VAR had found the play to be offside. Konsa’s blushes were saved but Villa would soon pay the price anyway.

Jannick Vestergaard and James Ward-Prowse are proving to be a superb partnership, they ruined Everton’s unbeaten start to the season a few weekends ago and this one gone they paired up to beat Aston Villa. Vestergaard latched onto Ward-Prowse’s free kick with his head to give the Saints the lead just after 20 minutes.

The second goal came 15 minutes later when Ward-Prowse was rewarded another free kick this time he scored directly from it and it was a stunning strike. And it would be a game of free kicks as just before half time it was Ward-Prowse again, and again it was  superb goal. Villa had been outdone by creating too many fouls on the edge of the box and Ward-Prowse is proving to be one of the deadliest free kick takers in the Premier League. The first half ended 3-0.

Though Villa had shown some promise in the first 45 minutes it was telling that Dean Smith’s side had conjured up no shots on target in that time. At 3-0 by half time the game looked dead and buried and one could only believe that a total collapse was going to let Villa back into the game but in the 58th minute it was 4-0. This time it was Danny Ings with a beautiful shot from the edge of the area.

Ten minutes later Jack Grealish set up Tyrone Mings and he headed in from close range to give Villa a consolation goal. Ings with fire in his belly thought he had scored a 2nd goal just six minutes later but it was flagged for offside. As the game went on Southampton  were happy to defend deep as Villa tried to create a miracle comeback. But as the 90th minute rolled on this game was surely over. Not quite.

In the 92nd minute the Saints Ibrahima Diallo gave away a penalty. Ollie Watkins the hero against Liverpool at this very stadium converted it for 2-4. And still there would be drama as the game went into an extended injury time. In the 97th minute Jack Grealish latched onto a loose ball and smashed the ball home for 3-4. Could there be an incredible comeback? Well the answer was no when the referee blew the whistle 60 seconds later.

Though Villa had lost their 2nd game in a row after starting the season so well they could end up taking something from the way they fought back and they had clearly unnerved Southampton. At the same time being 4 goals down at home isn’t acceptable and Villa have now conceded seven goals in their last two games something manager Smith will have to work at. Aston Villa drop down to 8th place and are now 4 points behind current league leaders Liverpool.

Southampton are the form team of the moment in the Premier League and the Saints have picked up 13 points from their past 15 available. They have climbed up to 5th place after a slow start and now have 13 points the same as Everton. Southampton will be at home to Newcastle next weekend and Aston Villa will play Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Jack Grealish was the best performing player in the fantasy points for Aston Villa where he earned 6 points from this game.

For Southampton the best performing player was James Ward-Prowse who earned 9 points.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players of the Weekend: Matchday 7

Champions Liverpool are back in 1st place after their rivals Everton lost their 2nd game in a row. Tottenham have been in good form lately and have moved up to 2nd and Gareth Bale scored the winner for them in an emotional game for the celebrated Welshman.

Arsenal recorded a rare victory at Old Trafford and Manchester United are in 15th place and struggling. Presently the best form team in the Premier League is Southampton who have notched up 13 points from their last 15.

Let’s take a look at the in form players, did any of your players make the final cut at the weekend?

Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno- Arsenal 7pts

Arsenal recorded their first league win at Old Trafford in over 10 years and goalkeeper Bernd Leno was able to help keep a clean sheet even if Manchester United didn’t have too many chances on goal. A huge away win for the Gunners.

Defender: Kurt Zouma- Chelsea 9pts

Chelsea’s form is picking up and Kurt Zouma led a defence that kept a clean sheet in 3-0 win over hapless Burnley. Zouma scored the 2nd goal which in truth killed the game off as Chelsea eased to a victory soon after. Zouma has been outstanding for the club so far this season and has a total of 24 points already.

Defender: Kyle Walker- Manchester City 9pts

A perfect game for Kyle Walker who in defence kept a clean sheet as Manchester City beat Sheffield United 1-0 away from home. And that winning goal came from Walker himself.

Defender: Rayan Ait Nouri- Wolves 9pts

Rayan Ait Nouri was the unlikely player for Wolves who opened the scoring as the club beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at home. Ait Nouri also maintained the back line well and helped to earn extra points by keeping a clean sheet. He is valued at 5.5m.

Defender: Thiago Silva – Chelsea 5pts

With Chelsea conceding a few goals at the start of the campaign it is important to see this version of the club who have now gone their last 2 games with no goals conceded. A part of that reason is down to veteran Thiago Silva who, after missing the beginning of the season, is fitting well into his role with the Blues.

Midfielder: James Ward-Prowse- Southampton 9ts

James Ward-Prowse in on fire and the midfielder has made it into the best 11 team for the 2nd week in a row. He did get booked which lost him points, but he hit back by scoring 2 goals as Southampton won a thriller at Villa park beating Aston Villa 4-3.

Midfielder: Hakim Ziyech- Chelsea 8pts

Frank Lampard had been talking Hakim Ziyech up before this game and the player did not let him down as he scored his first goal for the club with the opening goal as Chelsea beat Burnley 3-0 away from home. Ziyech then assisted for Chelsea’s last goal in a man of the match winning performance from the former Ajax man.

Midfielder: Jack Grealish- Aston Villa 6pts

Aston Villa have lost 2 games in a row and they were defeated 4-3 against Southampton at the weekend. But Jack Grealish gave it his all. At 4-0 down he set up Tyrone Mings to pull one back and then scored in injury time as Villa tried to make an incredible comeback but time simply ran out. Still Grealish earned more points.

Midfielder: Daniel Podence- Wolves 6pts

Daniel Podence is valued at 7.5m and has 16pts so far this season and six of those points were earned at the weekend as he grabbed Wolves’ 2nd goal of the game and his first of the season as his club overcame Crystal Palace by winning 2-0.

Striker: Callum Wilson- Newcastle 7pts

Callum Wilson was too hot to handle for Everton as Newcastle beat them 2-1. Wilson has scored six goals this season already and he scored a brace at the weekend. He did lose points as he was booked early on.

Striker: Danny Ings- Southampton 4pts

Quite a few strikers finished the weekend with 4 points but Danny Ings gets the nod after working so hard as the Saints, the best in form side in the league went to Aston Villa and won 4-3, they were 4-0 up at one point. Ings got on the score sheet too and scored the 4th goal which would turn out to be the winning goal.

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