Unai Emery told to start Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins for Aston Villa v Manchester United
Bryan King wants Unai Emery to start Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins when Aston Villa take on Manchester United on Sunday (6 October).
The ex-Villa scout believes the strike duo could work well alongside each other.
Emery’s side will welcome United to Villa Park this weekend after their monumental 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League at the same venue on Wednesday (2 October), a match in which one player wowed Dan Bardell during his surprise start.
And King – speaking exclusively to Villa News – wants to see Duran given the nod after he netted the winner against the Bundesliga giants.
“I’d like to see both Duran and Watkins start,” King said.
“I think the pair of them could give Manchester United big problems. It seems with the way the team is playing at the moment, he often starts with one and then can bring the other one on if things aren’t working.
“However, if I were Emery I’d start the pair of them against United. They’d give any defence a problem. This is a big game at the weekend, why not play Duran and Watkins together?”
Jhon Duran to start for Aston Villa against Manchester United?
Duran has already been backed to make his first Premier League start of the season against United. However, the question is would he start alongside Watkins?
It would definitely be a different approach from Emery. However, with the form that Duran is in, his confidence will be sky-high.
Therefore, starting him against Erik ten Hag’s players, who comparatively are rather low on confidence, could be a recipe for success.
Should Villa claim another three points this week, this time against an English giant such as Manchester United, it would mark one of the best weeks at Villa Park in many years.
In other Aston Villa news, the referee from the Bayern Munich match has been commended after Watkins controversy.
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