As West Ham United face Aston Villa today, one player’s goalscoring record against the visitors should see both FPL bosses and Hammers’ fans take note.
Scoring in the last three meetings between the Claret and Blue rivals, Pablo Fornals could be key as the Irons seek a third successive league double over Villa on Sunday…
Fantastic Fornals
A 1-0 West Ham win in the reverse fixture at Villa Park came thanks to a long-range strike from Pablo Fornals at Villa Park in August last year.
Battling throughout in the West Midlands, the Spaniard ran onto a cross-field pass from Declan Rice and saw his deflected shot loop past Villa stopper Emiliano Martínez and into the net.
In doing so, Fornals not only secured the Hammers a valuable three points – their fifth straight win against the Villans in all competitions – but also registered his best FPL Gameweek return as well. The No8 was awarded eleven points for his showing at Villa: five for his goal, two for minutes played, three in bonuses and one extra for a clean sheet.
As it stands, Fornals has been selected by 0.4 per cent of managers and has returned 44 points before Villa’s trip to London Stadium, although his returns could continue as the Hammers play a double Gameweek in GW29 following today’s fixture.
After an impressive performance away to Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round too, despite the 3-1 defeat by the Red Devils at Old Trafford, Fornals could be a Hammer to help the Irons bounce back following a 4-0 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion last time out. The No8 has scored in his last three fixtures against Villa, with the Hammers looking to extend their unbeaten run against today’s visitors to ten matches too.
West Ham United's next three fixtures: AVL (h), SOU (h), NEW (h)
Duo set to return
Two West Ham United players who could make a big impact over the final third of the season are Maxwel Cornet and Kurt Zouma.
Zouma made his return to action against Brighton & Hove Albion from the bench, featuring for the senior team for the first team since a 2-0 win over Everton in January, while Cornet started the U21s’ defeat by Manchester City in what was his first appearance since the home Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in early October.
Over the next weeks, Hammers and FPL bosses will hope to see the duo continue their respective recoveries. With 58 points to his name, Zouma is priced at £4.4m and recorded his best Gameweek performance – 15 points against AFC Bournemouth – in October.
Cornet, meanwhile, is priced at £5.9m and will hope to see a return to the form he showed in the UEFA Europa Conference League following his summer switch from Burnley. The Ivorian scored 104 FPL points for the Clarets last season.
Opposition One to Watch: Ollie Watkins
Ollie Watkins has certainly found his form under Unai Emery, scoring in four straight league games before Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last time out.
Priced at £7.3m, Watkins has recorded double-figure points hauls on two occasions. The No11 was awarded eleven points in his club’s wins over both Leicester City and Everton.
With eight goals and four assists this season as he heads to London Stadium, the 27-year-old’s ownership has rocketed to 9.0 per cent in recent weeks. His return of 102 points is currently bettered by only three strikers in FPL – Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Ivan Toney. Watkins is a player in form.
Of note is that the England forward has two goals in five fixtures against West Ham, although he has not netted in the last two meetings between the sides. Watkins and Villa also have a double Gameweek set for GW29.
Aston Villa’s next three fixtures: WHU (a), BOU (h), CHE (a)
