Laursen

Villa are always a club that has yo-yo seasons. One year they will do fantastically well, then the next they will struggle. So far this year is shaping up as an "upswing" season for Villa; they narrowly lost to Liverpool in the opening game, and knocked over Chelsea yesterday.

One of the early pacesetters for Villa in the points department is the defender Laursen. After a 45 minute run at against Liverpool, he has played every minute of the season thereafter. He has also racked up to gameweeks with 9 points, both times in the form of a clean sheet and maximum 3 bonus points.

Players who regularly accrue bonus points are the kind of players you want in your squad. A push by Fantasy Premier League to try and allocate them away from 'star goalscorers' has seen bonus points move to a different set of regulars. It looks like Laursen could become one of these regulars.

Also in his favour is Villa's fixtures list, which is rather favourable. Between now and December, Villa have:

Man City
Everton
Tottenham
West Ham
Man Utd
Bolton
Derby
Birmingham
Middlesborough
Blackburn

That is a long run with only one Big 4 opponent. This will lead to several opportunities for clean sheets, bonus points, or the occasional assist. Laursen could be a good investment as a cheap, reliable defender - especially if Villas form sticks to its calendar and has an "Up" year.