With Aston Villa and Wolves making strong starts to the 2020/21 season, footballers from the midlands are in fashion for Fantasy Premier League managers around the world.
That much is clear when looking at the market trends ahead of gameweek six.
With his near-perfect start to life at Villa, Emiliano Martinez continues to rise in popularity among managers, with a net total of a quarter of a million adding him between GW5 and GW6.
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The Argentinian’s popularity has seen him rise from £4.5million to £4.8m – he is exceeding expectations by such a margin that he is already just two points from his best FPL season points haul ever (33).
Martinez is the top-scoring goalkeeper so far, as well as the best value goalkeeper and the most owned.
At Wolves, another bargain at the back is making waves having scored 21 points in just two games: Max Kilman.
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Kilman’s lowly price tag (£4.1m) seems incredible value given he has registered two clean sheets and an assist already, but he remains at risk of being rotated out of the team when more established players return.
The Wolves man has seen a net increase of 184,328 owners ahead of GW6, while Villa’s Tyrone Mings – who has 30 FPL points thanks to a goal, an assist and three clean sheets – has been taken on by more than 200,000 managers since GW5.
In midfield it is impossible to stay away from Villa Park ever since Ross Barkley and Jack Grealish joined forces.
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Managers across the land are experiencing similar feelings, with hundreds of thousands adding at least one of the pair.
Barkley’s impact has been instant, with two goals including a last-minute winner against Leicester last week, but Grealish’s underlying numbers are perhaps more impressive.
The king of calves is averaging more than 40 per game for both Creativity and Threat on the FPL’s ICT index, suggesting his goal involvement is far from a fluke – with just one traditional top-six side to play between now and Christmas, he could fill his boots.
Last but not least, the forward battle between England stars Harry Kane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin appears to be edging the way of the Tottenham man if the market is to be believed.
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Kane’s ownership has increased by more than half a million this week, while DCL’s has risen by almost 300,000. Both are in form, but Kane is showing all-round traits which bosses simply cannot ignore.
The 27-year-old claimed a ridiculous five goals and seven assists in his last four league games, and his ICT numbers back those raw stats up too – Kane is number one for Threat (336) and Creativity (148.3) so far this season among forwards.
Calvert-Lewin has scored in each of Everton’s five games so far, but is struggling to compete with Kane’s all-round game.
