Fantasy Premier League managers have flirted with the second forward spot in their team all season and while Erling Haaland is a set and forget for pretty much every team, landing on a second striker that justifies his price and produces points consistently has been a problem position for most.
Pre-season favorite Joao Pedro has two goals in nine, one time bandwagon Jean-Philippe Mateta can’t find the form we saw last season, Victor Gyokeres has as many attacking returns as his centre-back team-mate Gabriel (five) and Nick Woltemade is now sharing minutes with Yoane Wissa.
A set and forget second forward that we can leave in our teams for the foreseeable would be a welcome addition to most squads and there are arguably two main contenders putting their hand up in Ollie Watkins and Igor Thiago.
Watkins is the in-form forward in the league right now and after a slow start which saw only one goal in his first 13, he now has six goals and two assists in his last seven league games. Pundits will speak about confidence and hot streaks and Watkins is no better example of a player that you can trust when he’s in the middle of a purple patch.
Villa have excellent fixtures too and while the entry point of Crystal Palace away might look difficult on paper, they’re on a seven-match wineless run and have had arguably the toughest fixture schedule of all teams over the festive period.
From Gameweek 22 Villa then have four home games in six with Everton, Brentford, Brighton and Leeds visiting Villa Park, where 10%-owned Watkins has a fantastic record.
Thiago was the second most sold player last Gameweek and he’s going to be one of the most bought this time round off the back of his 17-pointer at Everton.
With 14 goals, only Haaland has scored more than the Brazilian and in similar fashion to the Norwegian, Thiago is very much the talisman for his team. The goals at Brentford aren’t shared around and chances are very much funneled to Thiago. It often feels like the wide forwards and midfielders around him have a sole purpose to create big chances for their number nine.
