As Fantasy Premier League managers can now select their 15-man squads, The Scout analyses standout budget and premium players in each position.
Emiliano Buendia (AVL) £6.5m
Aston Villa’s kind short-term schedule gives their summer signing the chance to make an immediate impact in 2021/22 Fantasy.
Create your 2021/22 FPL squad now
Dean Smith’s side play two promoted sides, Watford and Brentford, in the first three Gameweeks, as well as hosting Newcastle United.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), each of those matches scores only two.
Villa’s first three Gameweeks
| GW | Opponent | FDR |
| 1 | WAT (A) | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | NEW (H) | 2 |
| 3 | BRE (H) | 2 |
Buendia was a huge influence in Norwich City’s Championship-winning campaign last season.
The Argentinian scored 15 goals and also supplied 16 assists in his 39 appearances.
The underlying numbers further highlight his major all-round potential.
Buendia’s total of 122 chances created was at least 37 more than any other player in the division, while his 111 shots ranked fifth overall.
He averaged a key pass every 27 minutes in the previous campaign, identical to Villa playmaker Jack Grealish (£8.0m).
Buendia's 2020/21 highlights
The underlying numbers show just how dominant Buendia was for Daniel Farke's side.
Despite being significantly more budget-friendly than the England star, Buendia has mainly been overlooked in opening squads in Fantasy.
He has been selected by only 10.8 per cent, compared with the 37.0 per cent of Grealish, who is the third most-popular midfielder in the game.
However, Grealish’s extended summer of international action with England in UEFA Euro 2020 perhaps places doubt over his availability for Villa’s Gameweek 1 trip to Watford.
Buendia, on the other hand, will be well-rested ahead of the Vicarage Road encounter.
Combined with his potential for both goals and assists, he could emerge as the go-to Villa attacker for those early Gameweeks.
Tomorrow: Sarr can be cut-price favourite