Transfer recommendations ahead of Gameweek 10 – Stock up on Aston Villa stars

ROLL up, roll up, get your transfer recommendations for Gameweek 10!

Ten teams are set to pull double duty because of the Carabao Cup fourth round fixtures on Wednesday night but it would be a risk to bank on team selections in midweek as extensive rotation is expected across the board.

Gaffers would be better off focusing on the weekend’s Premier League games when weighing up their latest transfer strategy – there are some favourable match-ups to target.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN AN XBOX!

Without further ado, some suggestions…

Ollie Watkins (£4.5m)

Aston Villa are a force to be reckoned with on home soil this season.

Unai Emery’s side have a 100% record in the league at Villa Park, including emphatic wins over Brighton (6-1) and West Ham (4-1).

This weekend, they welcome Luton to their lair, hopeful of another convincing victory.

Given that the Villains are the second-top scorers in the top flight and the Hatters are just one point above the relegation zone, Dream Team bosses should expect one-way traffic and plentiful returns.

Naturally, Watkins is first in line to benefit – he’s notched five goals and eight assists already in 2023/24.

The England international has amassed 43 points in his last four outings and will surely be a popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 10.

More broadly, stocking up on Villa assets could prove to be a profitable ploy with Matty Cash (£3.2m), Moussa Diaby (£3.4m), Douglas Luiz (£3.1m) and Ezri Konsa (£3m) all primed for points as well.

And this wouldn’t be a short-term strategy either, Villa’s fixtures appear favourable until early December.

Gabriel Martinelli (£4m)

While we’re on the subject of favourable match-ups, Arsenal are set to play Sheffield United at the Emirates on Saturday.

The Blades remain rooted to the bottom of the table with one just one point to show from their first nine league games.

Bukayo Saka (£6.4m) and Martin Odegaard (£5.1m) are the obvious attacking options but it’s Martinelli who has produced the goods since returning from injury.

The young Brazilian has registered 24 points across the last two Gameweeks and may therefore be most likely to take advantage this weekend.

The Gunners travel to West Ham in midweek so there’s the potential for additional returns but Mikel Arteta will probably see the Carabao Cup as a low priority.

Micky van de Ven (£2.8m)

Many Dream Team bosses will be playing the hokey-cokey with Tottenham assets at the moment.

They’re prolific points hoarders in the Premier League but the lack of European fixtures mean they tend to drop back down the rankings in midweek during double Gameweeks.

Gameweek 10 is a double for half the teams but the Carabao Cup is not as significant as the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League triple up and so Spurs players get the green light.

James Maddison (£4.3m) and Son Heung-min (£4.8m) remain the most dangerous attacking options but it may worth targeting a clean sheet from Ange Postecoglu’s troops on Friday night.

The league leaders travel to Selhurst Park, which can be a tricky place to go, but the fact is Crystal Palace have scored just seven league goals this season – only Bournemouth have scored fewer at this stage.

The absence of the injured Eberechi Eze (£3.6m) means the Eagles are even less potent going forward than usual – they’re pretty tight at the back though.

There’s not much between Spurs’ first-choice back four in terms of total points, we’ve singled out Van de Ven simply because he’s the cheapest.

Dominik Szoboszlai (£3.9m)

A quick one to finish.

We recommended Kostas Tsimikas (£2.7m) ahead of Gameweek 9 and he returned seven points via a clean sheet in the Merseyside derby – he may also feature in the Europa League this evening – but the broader idea was to target a friendly run of games for Liverpool.

The same thinking applies to Szoboszlai with Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Luton, Toulouse and Brentford to come before the international break.

It goes without saying that Mohamed Salah (£6.6m) is the Reds’ primary threat – he’s plundered 28 points in his last two outings.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk