Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins must be firing on all cylinders v Lille as ‘one of the best’ claim made
Ollie Watkins has massively impressed for Aston Villa this season, and that form must continue as the Villans clash with Lille at Villa Park on Thursday (11 April).
The 28-year-old has notched 24 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season, seeing him score or assist every 100 minutes, as per Transfermarkt.
Despite this, the Villa striker has only been able to hit the back of the net three times in six Europa Conference League games, scoring in both legs against AZ Alkmaar and once against Ajax before getting injured.
He comes into the match in superb form, scoring twice against Brentford in a 3-3 thriller on Saturday (6 April), showcasing his heading ability as Villa had to come from behind to salvage a point.
Watkins was also very clinical in the match, maintaining a 100 per cent shot accuracy, with both hitting the back of the net in a Man of the Match performance. [FotMob]
He also completed 100 per cent of his dribbles against the Bees, winning 80 per cent of his ground duels and 60 per cent of his aerial duels. Watkins is not just a goalscoring machine.
While Emiliano Martinez, John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey are all incredible assets in Unai Emery’s team, the Lille boss has singled out Villa’s striker for significant praise.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, quoted by HITC, Paulo Fonseca said: “They are a strong team. After PSG they are probably the strongest team. I believe a lot in our centre-backs, but I know (Watkins) is an amazing striker.
“He is hard to stop and he is in a great moment. We have prepared the game so that he won’t get many chances. For me, he is one of the best strikers in Europe at the moment.”
Can Ollie Watkins make the difference for Aston Villa v Lille?
Fans will have collectively breathed a sigh of relief when their star striker opened the scoring against Brentford, bagging his first Premier League goal since the 3-2 victory over Luton Town at the start of March.
Going four matches without scoring is never a good sign for a player of Watkin’s ability, though his form was certainly not helped by the injury sustained against Ajax in the previous round of the Europa Conference League.
Despite this, Watkins still ranks in the top 82 percentile for non-penalty goals among strikers in the top five European leagues, as well as the top 94 percentile for assists. [FBref]
Villa will be depending on the 28-year-old to find his shooting boots once again. However, other players at Villa Park have stepped up during his goalscoring drought, with Morgan Rogers and Moussa Diaby chipping in recently.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has raged at the “unfair” criticism he’s seen aimed at a Villa star.
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