Why Aston Villa defenders could dominate from now until Christmas
Dream Team gaffers reluctant to put their faith in Chelsea defenders have been left scratching their heads when contemplating alternatives.
The Blues have been brilliant since Edouard Mendy's (£3.2m) arrival but block-picking Kurt Zouma (£3.2m) and co is a gamble as one conceded goal could ruin the weekend; something that almost happened in Game Week 8 before Hakim Ziyech (£3.7m) came to the rescue with assists for Ben Chilwell (£4.3m) and Thiago Silva (£4.5m).
So which defenders could we mix in with the Chelsea boys to spread the load?
Viable options stem from Leicester, Man City and Wolves but we're putting Aston Villa defenders forward for consideration.
No Premier League team have conceded fewer goals than Dean Smith's side at this stage of the season — a fact that would have been unthinkable for most of 2019/20.
Granted, the Villains have played one game fewer than most of their rivals because of the scheduling but that just makes their position in the table (6th) even more impressive.
Tyrone Mings (£2.5m) entered the top ten defenders after Villa's 3-0 win at the Emirates with Ezri Konsa (£1.8m) not far behind in 12th on 36 points.
The latter is the only defender currently priced below £2.0m with more than 30 points to his name.
Let's use the Dream Team Coach player comparison tool to see how Mings matches up with a more popular defender...
Matty Cash's (£2.1m) tally of 26 points is respectable without but it's worth noting the 23-year-old is has the highest average WhoScored rating of all right-backs in the Premier League.
For those who don't know, WhoScored provide our ratings that determine Star Man and bonus points for each fixture.
Keepers and defenders and go hand-in-hand and only the aforementioned Mendy has more points than Emiliano Martinez (£3.1m) right now.
Some may be concerned by Villa's rare lapses this season.
Patrick Bamford's hat-trick (£3.2m) and Southampton's 4-3 win at Villa Park meant Mings and co incurred minus points in successive weeks before their convincing win away to Arsenal.
However, a glance at Villa's league fixtures from now until Christmas suggests they've got a favourable run.
- Brighton (h)
- West Ham (a)
- Newcastle (h)
- Wolves (a)
- Burnley (h)
- West Brom (a)
- Crystal Palace (h)
With upcoming games against three teams currently in the bottom five, the potential for Villa defenders to acquire points this festive period is relatively high.
We must consider the fact Villa aren't participating in Europe this season, meaning their players aren't able to add to their points tallies as frequently as those bound to Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Man United, Leicester, Spurs and Arsenal.
Even so, this season demands outside-the-box thinking more than most.
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