Unai Emery to make brutal Ollie Watkins decision despite Aston Villa victory v Leicester City
Unai Emery may have to consider dropping Ollie Watkins as the Aston Villa star’s poor start to the new Premier League season continues.
The 28-year-old has now gone eight league matches without hitting the back of the net stretching into last season, albeit notching four assists in that time, including one against Leicester City on Saturday 31 August.
While Emery will be mainly focused on his side securing all three points in a 2-1 win at the King Power Stadium, Watkins’ drought in front of goal will likely be a concern.
Speaking live via BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday (31 August, 3:06pm), Chris Waddle said: “I don’t think Watkins is up to the pace he was at last season. He looks as if he’s struggling, I don’t know if it’s fitness.”
With Jhon Duran worth this weight in gold against the Foxes, replacing the striker on the hour-mark before scoring the winning goal, the manager has options to choose from.
The Colombian’s substitute performance could very well condemn Watkins to a spot on the bench as Villa prepare to welcome Everton to Villa Park on Saturday 14 September.
Unai Emery to drop Ollie Watkins after Aston Villa struggles?
Despite getting the assist for Amadou Onana’s opening goal, Watkins is clearly struggling to rediscover the same form from last season, when he notched 19 goals and 13 assists in the league.
While he did maintain a 100 per cent passing accuracy, he took just 13 touches against a low-block Leicester team, snatching at his chances in the penalty area [FotMob].
The England international could only get 50 per cent of his shots on target (1/2), seeing him miss two big chances, and was relatively ineffective against the defenders, winning just 40 per cent of his ground duels.
The 28-year-old also completed zero per cent of his attempted dribbles as well as committing two fouls, likely in frustration due to his lack of involvement in the game.
Of course, taking him out of the starting XI would be a huge gamble for Emery, but with Duran waiting in the wings and proving himself as a substitute, it could be a change that makes sense after the international break.
In other Aston Villa news, one 91% star bossed in a 9/10 performance v Leicester City.
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