Aston Villa 23/24 Fantasy Flashback

Ryan Barnes
Jul 14, 2024
5 min read

Before we look ahead to this season's prospects, let's first digest Aston Villa's takeaways from the previous season in our 23/24 Fantasy Flashback series. In this year's 24/25 Draft Kit, we are featuring both a Fantasy Flashback and a Fantasy Forecast for every single Premier League team. The flashbacks will be available on Draft Kit launch day, while the forecasts will drop closer to draft day. Check the 24/25 Draft Kit main page often, as it's updated constantly!

In addition to reviewing top Draft PL fantasy contributors, Aston Villa's Fantasy Flashback will highlight a breakout player and a fantasy flop, analyze the impact of any injuries suffered by Aston Villa players, and review the team's performance as a whole. Then, be sure to check out the Aston Villa 24/25 Fantasy Forecast to find out whether last season was a fluke or if we predict more of the same.

Check out our 24/25 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need: Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Mock Drafts, Strategy, Draft 101. We've got it all!

Aston Villa 23/24 Fantasy Flashback

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23/24 Player Performance

Injury Impact

Overall Team Performance

23/24 Aston Villa Player Performance

Let's review how Aston Villa players fared in 23/24, with an emphasis on their Draft Premier League fantasy assets. We'll also discuss any pertinent info regarding rotation, managerial tactics, and injuries below. What can we learn from their performance in the last campaign?

Note: The following table is interactive. Desktop users can apply the Filter, Group, and Sort buttons to arrange the data to their preferences. Mobile users can tap on a player card to view all data points. The table can be reset to its default state by refreshing the page.

Aston Villa under Unai Emery is another team that is pretty top heavy in terms of fantasy points distribution, with only three players able to boast double digit Points Per Start (PPS) numbers. But they do have a few others knocking on the door. Everyone knew coming into the 23/23 campaign that Ollie Watkins was going to be the top scorer for this team, but he still smashed projections, bagging an absurd 32 Goals/Assists (G/A), improving upon his 22/23 PPS of 10.8, and finishing as the top scoring FWD in the game. Many were expecting exciting new signing Moussa Diaby to be hot on his heels but after his prolific start, he leveled off. It was actually nearly forgotten Leon Bailey that ended up rivalling Watkins for fantasy supremacy as he managed to stay relatively healthy for once and balled out.

Meanwhile, in midfield, Douglas Luiz largely won the set piece battle with Youri Tielemans and John McGinn - who were both decent but unremarkable - riding a few purple patches to MID2/MID3 numbers. Jacob Ramsey, the vessel for many hopes and dreams, just could not shake his preseason injury and bag any meaningful minutes. But Morgan Rogers emerged from the January transfer window to take on the up and coming youngster mantle and deliver a few mouthwatering performances. The defenders, even the often lauded fullbacks, were mostly streamers this season as there weren't enough ghosts or clean sheets to go around.

23/24 Breakout Player

Leon Bailey

Position: Forward

23/24 Points: 359 (11th best FWD)

23/24 Points Per Start: 11.2 (22 starts)

Now this is the Leon Bailey we all had hoped for when the Jamaican first rocked up on Blighty's shores in the summer of 2021. He nabbed a tasty 19 Goals/Assists (G/A) enroute to 11+ Points Per Start (PPS), shattering his 7.1 PPS from 22/23. He even added nearly 2 points to his Ghost Points Per Start (GPPS) numbers, jumping from 4.8 to 6.7 GPPS. Bailey was a man possessed and must have forced Emery to wonder why he didn't start him even more, despite having just spent a hefty amount on Moussa Diaby, a very similar player. If Bailey can stay healthy next season, he should again play a key attacking role in this team.

Honorable Mention is Douglas Luiz. The Brazilian engine room operator had a typically solid season with 9.7 PPS, improving upon his 9 PPS from 22/23. He had a stranglehold on set pieces and nicked a few goals. If he stays (at the current time of writing, he is the subject of intense transfer speculation, with Juventus as a keen suitor). He should have similar MID3 numbers in 24/25.

23/24 Fantasy Flop

Moussa Diaby

Position: Forward

23/24 Points: 299 (18th best FWD)

23/24 Points Per Start: 10.2 (25 starts)

The label of flop might seem harsh for Moussa Diaby, a player with 10+ PPS. But given his draft position and how he finished, it's warranted, all things considered. He was a much heralded attacking signing from the Bundesliga and thus fetched a 4th Round draft pick in most leagues. He posted a decent 16 G/A in his debut season and started pretty well but he petered out and was even dropped come the business end of the season. His Ghost Points Per Start (GPPS) of less than 6 is respectable for a FWD but not what we had hoped for. He is a quality player and could be a value pick in the 24/25 draft if he further acclimates to the EPL and regains his form, although Champions League rotation may prove a hindrance.

Honorable Mention is Youri Tielemans, who joined last summer on a free transfer. The Belgian was a revelation at Leicester City before they were relegated but he largely struggled in his first campaign with the Villans. He was a quasi-sleeper draft pick although we advised against it. He turned out to be a disappointment, only earning 17 starts and a mediocre 7 PPS.

Injury Impact

While key players such as Watkins, Bailey (shockingly), and McGinn stayed relatively healthy, there were some important absentees. Villa's left-sided midfielders did not fare too well, with Emi Buendia and Jacob Ramsey sidelined for most of the season (the entire season for Emi). This meant that new signing Zaniolo likely played more than he would have and it also probably helped move the needle on the transfer of Morgan Rogers. On the defensive side, CB stalwart Tyrone Mings was also out long term, forcing the backline to adjust (although it's doubtful that this is the reason for the lack of clean sheets as Emery teams are fairly leaky defensively).

Aston Villa's Overall Team Performance

The Villans, while disappointed not to get further in the Europa Conference League (especially given manager Unai Emery's pedigree in Europe), have to be thrilled with finishing fourth in the Premier League and earning Champions League football next season. While the defense was far from stodgy with only 8 clean sheets, Villa was propelled by a prolific attack - as they were 6th in the league with 76 goals (19 of which came from Ollie Watkins). Making Villa Park a fortress was critical to their improved fortunes this season. They nicked a few big scalps at home, including both Arsenal and Manchester City in the span of a week, enroute to securing 40 points with a +20 goal difference (compared to just 29 points and -5 goal difference away from home). To improve next season, Emery will need more goals from players not named Watkins and to be better away from Villa Park.