Emiliano Buendia and Yoane Wissa (both £6.0m) have the form to prove handy differentials for managers’ opening squads in 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League.
Buendia was involved in all of Aston Villa’s goals in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle United in the Premier League Summer Series, scoring twice and also supplying the assist for Ollie Watkins’ (£8.0m) opener.
Whereas Watkins is found in over 14 per cent of squads, a mere 0.8 per cent currently own Buendia.
Encouragingly for Villa's attackers, they face Newcastle again in Gameweek 1 before a pair of favourable fixtures versus Everton and Burnley.
Meanwhile, owners of Kieran Trippier (£6.5m) in Fantasy will be monitoring the Magpies’ tactics in pre-season after they trialled a three-man defence against Villa.
The right-back was the top-scoring defender in Fantasy last season and is currently the second most-popular player in his position, found in 34.6 per cent of squads.
But Trippier was used as a right-sided centre-back in the Villa contest, as head coach Eddie Howe took the opportunity to experiment with his formation.
Howe also continued his tactic of rotating his forwards, with Alexander Isak (£7.5m) and Callum Wilson (£8.0m) each scoring one goal.
Wissa a tempting differential?
Brentford forward Wissa, meanwhile, could prove a crucial source of value from the beginning of 2023/24 Fantasy.
He looks set to start up front for the Bees, with Ivan Toney (£8.0m) suspended.
Wissa has immediately found his form, scoring in Brentford’s 3-2 Summer Series defeat to Fulham on Sunday.
He also has the schedule to extend that output; according to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), five of the Bees' first seven matches score only two.
Brentford’s first seven matches
| GW | Opponent | FDR | GW | Opponent | FDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TOT (H) | 3 | 5 | NEW (A) | 4 |
| 2 | FUL (A) | 2 | 6 | EVE (H) | 2 |
| 3 | CRY (H) | 2 | 7 | NFO (A) | 2 |
| 4 | BOU (H) | 2 | |||
Owned by a mere 3.8 per cent compared with the 24.2 per cent of team-mate Bryan Mbeumo (£6.5m), Wissa could be a strong differential option in either a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation in Fantasy.
Brentford full-back Rico Henry (£4.5m) can also take advantage of that run of opponents, having supplied an assist in both their pre-season outings so far.
Fulham’s Harry Wilson (£5.5m), meanwhile, is one to monitor after his goal and assist against the Bees.
However, the Cottagers face a tough start to 2023/24, visiting both Arsenal and Manchester City in their first four matches.
That suggests Wilson could be worth the investment when their schedule turns more favourable from Gameweek 5.
Also in this series
Part 1: Pair Haaland with Stones
Part 3: Chelsea and Brighton forwards in form
Part 4: Versatile Young a value target?
Part 5: Salah and Nunez becoming deadly duo
