Aston Villa - Christian Benteke
Aston Villa can consider themselves quite fortunate to still have a place amongst the elite of English football, and up until the last month of the prior season, I had them pegged as being relegated due to their serious inconsistency. However, they managed to prove me wrong, as their inexperienced collection of players was able to bring it all together in the final stretch to distance themselves from serious trouble. Now, the young players have another season under their belts, and will be much wiser than most due to the range of experiences and emotions they gathered during the gruelling campaign near the bottom can only benefit their chances of staying up this year. The club should be looking upwards rather than dwell on their difficulties last season. The decision to stick with Paul Lambert as manager will hopefully pay dividends following the work he put in to keep the club up after the success he had at Norwich City. Nevertheless, the squad has not been added to significantly in the transfer window, with a great deal of expectation placed on the current crop of players improve from last year's trying season. However, some players will be relied upon more than others to push Aston Villa towards the top half of the standings. Without the lethal goalscoring of Christian Benteke last year, Aston Villa almost certainly would have gone down. Usurping the lone striker role from Darren Bent, a proven striker at the highest level, Benteke scored 19 goals in the league, and many expected him to leave to a 'bigger' club in order to pursue European football and attempt to win trophies on a regular basis. He even had a transfer request put in during this current window. Remarkably though, and a testament to the magical ability Lambert seems to possess, he not only withdrew the request but also signed a contract extension, which ensures that for at least another year the Belgian will be plying his trade for the Villains, and depending on his success, the speculation will likely restart next year. The only question is whether Benteke will be able to emulate his exploits from the previous twelve months. He has an effective mix of speed and strength which has had a serious impact on numerous defences, but will they come back against him with a new plan for the upcoming season?
Where will they finish? - 1oth