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FPL Gameweek 33 Tips
FPL Gameweek 33: Which Aston Villa Players should we buy? What are the experts doing this week? Best Free Hit Draft and more inside!
Fantasy Football Community
2024/25
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EXCLUSIVE: Who are the best Villa players to buy in FPL?
The biggest Double Gameweek of the season so far is here, with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City all playing twice.
In this Scouting the Doubles, we take a closer look at Unai Emery’s side.
THE FIXTURES
Villa are in a good run of form, winning all of their past four league matches, scoring nine goals and keeping three clean sheets.
The Double Gameweek 33 fixtures are tough on paper, however, with clashes against fourth-placed Newcastle United and fifth-placed Man City.
That said, with victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, Villa extended their unbeaten home run to 18 games across all competitions.
They’ve already beaten Man City this season, too.
xG rank (last six) | xGC rank (last six) | xG rank (season) | xGC rank (season) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Newcastle | 7th | 6th | 5th | 6th |
Man City | 5th | 5th | 4th | 8th |
Villa ‘blank’ in Gameweek 34 due to their involvement in the FA Cup semi-final.
Beyond that, they host Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, with visits to Bournemouth and Manchester United completing the agenda.
On the face of it, it’s a tricky run, but it isn’t the worst time to be facing Spurs and United, who will likely prioritise Europe.
ROTATION RISK?
Villa bowed out of Europe earlier this week, but they are still in the FA Cup.
Notably, they’ll face Palace in their semi-final at Wembley just a few days after the conclusion of Double Gameweek 33, so we could see a bit of rotation, particularly in the attacking spots, given the depth at Emery’s disposal.
However, the Spaniard has challenged his players to secure UEFA Champions League qualification after PSG knocked them out on Tuesday, so it’ll surely remain the priority, given the financial implications.
Saturday 19 April: Newcastle United (h), Gameweek 33
Tuesday 22 April: Manchester City (a), Gameweek 33
Saturday 26 April: Crystal Palace (n), FA Cup
Saturday 3 May: Fulham (h), Gameweek 35
VILLA’S UNDERLYING NUMBERS
Above are Villa’s rolling six-match averages for both StatsBomb expected goals (xG) and xG conceded in 2024/25.
This plot shows a) Villa’s attack is moving in the right direction again and b) the defence is a weakness.
However, Villa have adopted a more controlled approach in recent weeks, keeping things steady against Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and Southampton.
Across that run, they’ve conceded just one big chance and 3.52 xG, a clear improvement.
WHO ARE THE MOST-OWNED VILLA PLAYERS IN THE TOP 10K?
Player | Position | Ownership % (top 10k) |
|---|---|---|
Rogers | Midfielder | 35.33 |
Konsa | Defender | 26.73 |
Martinez | Goalkeeper | 20.22 |
Digne | Defender | 5.66 |
Asensio | Midfielder | 5.14 |
Rashford | Midfielder | 4.57 |
Watkins | Forward | 3.80 |
Malen | Midfielder | 0.54 |
Pau | Defender | 0.42 |
Disasi | Defender | 0.41 |
*These ownership figures, which can be found on LiveFPL, are correct as of last Saturday’s deadline.
BEST VILLA PLAYERS TO BUY IN FPL
MORGAN ROGERS
It’s been a superb season for Morgan Rogers (£5.7m).
The England international has racked up eight goals and eight assists across 31 Premier League starts, averaging 4.5 points per match.
Emery is reluctant to rotate him and given his versatility (see below), he’s an option you can hopefully rely on to start both matches in Double Gameweek 33.
Statistically, Rogers has been Villa’s main attacking threat in the last six Gameweeks.
He’s served up two goals and three assists, and is top among team-mates for big chance involvement, penalty box touches and non-pen xGI, making him a standout Villa pick.
MARCUS RASHFORD/OLLIE WATKINS
Firstly, neither player is nailed-on to start both matches in Double Gameweek 33.
It doesn’t necessarily rule them out as FPL options, however, with both players more than capable of returning off the bench against tired legs.
Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) has started five of the last six matches in all competitions as Villa’s centre-forward.
He may not have scored himself, but the on-loan Manchester United man was superb against PSG on Tuesday, providing the assist for Ezri Konsa’s (£4.4m) goal, his sixth since joining the club in January.
He also racked up 12 penalty box touches, nine crosses and four key passes, the most of any Villa player.
On set-pieces and recently namechecked by Emery as the main penalty taker, Rashford has plenty going for him.
“We have our penalty shooter and the first one is Marcus Rashford. The second one is Asensio. Third ones are Tielemans, McGinn and Watkins. They are responsible when penalties are coming. We have to accept it and decide for the next match.” – Unai Emery
As for the prospect of seeing Rashford and Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) in the same starting XI, it’s probably not something we’ll witness in Double Gameweek 33, although Emery was keen to stress he’d like to try it.
“The next step, if I have time, is to play them together. We did with Rashford playing left side, but now we are choosing more with both playing as strikers. That’s the next step. I want to practice. I want to test, but not now, with enough time.” – Unai Emery
Watkins, meanwhile, has already notched 20 goal involvements this season, with 14 goals and six assists in 26 starts and a handful of sub appearances.
He’s a risky pick, however, given Emery’s recent teamsheets.
“For me, I’m not happy to sit on the bench. It’s disappointing every game that I’m on the bench, but it’s the manager’s decision at the end of the day.” – Ollie Watkins speaking after the Southampton game
ARE ANY OF VILLA’S OTHER ATTACKERS WORTH CONSIDERING?
Given the plethora of options at Emery’s disposal, it’s hard to fully recommend any of Villa’s other midfielders.
Marco Asensio (£6.2m) has produced three goals and two assists in his last five league appearances, highlighting his upside, but Emery could easily deploy John McGinn (£5.2m), Jacob Ramsey (£5.4m) and Rogers behind either Rashford or Watkins on Saturday.
The same minutes concerns apply to Donyell Malen (£5.3m), who hasn’t been a first-choice player since he arrived in January.
Youri Tielemans (£5.5m) is at least immune to rotation, starting every Premier League game this season. A master at through balls, he’s produced two goals and six assists, but is only averaging a shot every 75.6 minutes, one of the lowest rates among Villa midfielders.
GOALKEEPER/DEFENDERS
Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) is a secure pick at the back for Villa, but with Newcastle and Man City up next, clean sheets will surely be hard to come by. He should at least benefit from save points, however.
At £4.4m, Konsa is easier on the budget and should start both matches, even with Axel Disasi (£4.2m) lurking.
The other spots feel like a bit of a minefield, with plenty of options across the backline.
RB: Cash, Garcia, Disasi, Bogarde
RCB: Konsa, Disasi, Bogarde
LCB: Pau, Mings
LB: Digne, Maatsen
@FPLReaction Team Reveal
Check out what moves our expert is making this week:
BEST FREE HIT TEAM
Free Hitting this week? We share our best free hit for Gameweek 33 here:
BEST DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 33 PLAYERS TO BUY
We reveal the best double Gameweek 33 players to buy:
LONG-TERM PLANNING
We take a look at when to use your chips and pick out the best players for the next three Gameweeks:
Be sure to check out all of our latest articles over at Fantasy Football Community.