Football Index Ones To Watch: Zouma | Dack | McGinn

Chelsea's start to the 2020/21 campaign has been very topsy-turvy after a summer of splashing the cash, with the club scoring more than anybody else in the Premier League (20), but letting in 10 from eight games and drawing three.

Whilst letting in 10 goals this early on in the season isn't quite a title-winning number, it is the second least conceded in the top flight, which says a lot considering the incredible amount of goals scored already this year.

Much of the reason for Chelsea's turn in form at the back has been the addition of Edouard Mendy, who has cleaned up the messy act left between the sticks by Kepa Arrizabalaga. However, the rise of Kurt Zouma in central defence has certainly not been spoken of enough. The ex-Everton man has now, finally, started to become a regular for the club he joined six years ago and become a pivotal part of their solidity.

Zouma has played seven Premier League games so far and scored an extraordinary three goals already, which is only bettered by their hotshot striker, Timo Werner. The Frenchman has also made 511 passes ahead of this week's clash with Newcastle United, whilst also making 36 clearances, winning 23 aerial battles and becoming a regular feature for the world champions, France.

Now, Zouma is priced at £0.58 on Football Index, which is a 1.69% change in his price in this past week, and as Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 11 games in 90 minutes, the Blues' centre-back's form may well continue.

Return of the Dack.

Bradley Dack will be making his long-awaited return to first team action for Blackburn Rovers very soon after playing in a behind closed doors fixture against Sheffield United, where he played 45 minutes.

This was the first time the club's main goal threat has played in 330 days, having injured his anterior cruciate ligament against Wigan Athletic in December 2019. Dack ended up playing just 22 Championship games as a result of his horror injury, but still managed to bag nine goals, which was just seven fewer than top scorer, Adam Armstrong, who played 24 games more.

By this ratio, Dack could be back to goalscoring form in no time. It is, however, reported that the Englishman will take a few games with the Under-23s first, before starting a fixture with the senior squad.

After the Luton Town match this weekend, Blackburn will face Preston North End, Brentford, Bristol City, Norwich City and Rotherham United, and three of these sides are outside the top 10 in the Championship.

Prior to his injury, Dack notched home 42 league goals in 106 games for the club and his return may just be what is needed to close the five-point gap on the play-off places. Ahead of his arrival back to the Championship, Dack is priced at £0.58 on Football Index.

Aston Villa's sensational start to the 2020/21 campaign has taken a slight hit the past few months as the club lost to both Leeds United and Southampton, conceding seven goals in two games and dropping out of the top four.

However, Villa came back with one of their greatest performances in the Premier League since their return in 2018, where Dean Smith's men annihilated an Arsenal side at the Emirates, who had just eased past Manchester United at Old Trafford. Now, the Villains sit in sixth place with a game in hand on those above, which, if they win, will take them level on points with table-toppers, Leicester City.

Players such as Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins have grabbed the headlines for Villa, with the two Englishmen registering 10 Premier League goals between them. However, one man who has not quite got the credit they deserve is John McGinn.

McGinn has bagged four league assists, which only Grealish can better with one more, whilst the Scot has also scored one and registered an average rating of 7.20 on WhoScored. In fact, McGinn's seven goals in eight games for Scotland last year ended up being pivotal in the country qualifying for Euro 2021 recently and Alan McInally believes he has been the main man for both his club and country's recent success.

Now, McGinn is priced at £0.93 on Football Index