Ollie Watkins under pressure for Aston Villa ahead of Bournemouth clash
Ollie Watkins must prove himself for Aston Villa against Bournemouth after Jhon Duran got on the scoresheet in the win over Bologna in the Champions League.
The Villans went top of the table in Europe’s elite competition thanks to a 2-0 win at Villa Park on Tuesday (22 October) against the Serie A outfit.
Jhon Duran started the clash and got on the scoresheet once again, latching on to Morgan Rogers’ cross to convert at the Holte End.
Watkins replaced Duran off the bench against Bologna but the England international will have to impress against the Cherries to keep the 20-year-old out of the side.
Ollie Watkins must prove himself for Aston Villa v Bournemouth
It has to be said that the ex-Brentford man has been a consistently excellent player in Claret and Blue, which has seen him score 75 goals in four years.
With that being said, the 28-year-old is facing arguably his toughest opposition in the Villa squad as Duran continues to impress.
The Colombia international has outscored Watkins so far this campaign, scoring seven compared to the Englishman’s five.
Despite this, Unai Emery often opts to start with the youngster on the bench in the Premier League and that has worked well so far this campaign.
Against Fulham, the Villa stalwart was on the scoresheet – a deserved reward after maintaining a 100 per cent shot accuracy throughout the clash at Craven Cottage [FotMob].
There were certainly some aspects that could have been improved, as he kept up a pass completion rate of just 56 per cent across his nine attempts and 17 touches.
His defensive work also left something to be desired, winning just one duel with a 25 per cent win rate.
By comparison, Duran won five duels while also contributing with three defensive actions after getting on the scoresheet before being taken off.
If Watkins doesn’t want to get dropped for the 20-year-old, he needs to get on the scoresheet once again to keep him at the fore of Emery’s thoughts.
In other Aston Villa news, a wantaway Manchester United ace would be welcomed with open arms at Villa Park after the latest January development.
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