Villa Offensive Players

This week Villa players look like they might be a Good Thing. They are in fine form after thumping Man City, and this week they have a trip to Stoke - a promising fixture indeed. So who are the better options of Villa offensive players?

Agbonlahor got off to a flyer, scoring a second half hat-trick in the space of 7 minutes. The bookies have responded by slashing his odds of being top goal scorer from greater than 70:1 right back to around 17:1. And starting at £8.0 million, his large points haul make him an attractive target for players looking to transfer him in. But despite the great start and this weeks newly promoted opposition, it is unlikely that he will put away another 3 goals this week. In fact Agbonlahor has a bit of a track record for scoring FF points in bursts, before going long periods only pulling in the base 2 points per week.

Carew is the other Villa striker, and is possibly a better choice as he is more of a target on set pieces because of his physical prowess. Carew also scored in Saturday's rout, and as a result of Villa's promising start the bookies have adjusted Carew's price for top goalscorer; from around 70:1 he has narrowed to between 40:1 and 50:1, depending on where you do your bet-shopping.

In the midfield Barry picked up where he left off last season, and was instrumental in the Villa win with 2 assists. Ashley Young lived up to expectations and scored an assist and bonus points - he could become a bonus magnet this season. Both Barry and Young are £8.5 million, or for the same price you could have Man City's Elano, who is their penalty taker this season and as such will pop a few away from the spot.

Of course its not entirely roses: there is risk in bringing in a Villa player as their fixtures get a little gloomy after the Stoke match, specifically Liverpool at home before Tottenham away. But there will be points to be had in both games, and you should always be able to turn to your bench should you not fancy their odds.