Shearer makes ‘fuming’ Watkins claim ahead of Aston Villa clash v Crystal Palace
Alan Shearer has concerns over Ollie Watkins ahead of the FA Cup clash between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa on Saturday.
Aston Villa can edge one step closer to winning a trophy this season by beating Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on 26 April.
However, Unai Emery’s side go into the game on the back of a demoralising 2-1 defeat against Manchester City, while Palace are high on confidence after holding Arsenal to a 2-2 draw.
Meanwhile, there has also been a lot of talk about Watkins after Emery overlooked him again against City, despite his man-of-the-match display against Newcastle in the Villans’ previous outing.
Shearer predicts Aston Villa showdown v Crystal Palace
This comes days after Watkins openly expressed his disappointment over not starting against PSG in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Shearer believes the England international will be ‘fuming’ with his situation, just as he was after being overlooked by Emery in Europe.
| Competition | Matches | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
| Premier League | 34 | 15 | 7 | 2273′ |
| Champions League | 12 | 1 | 4 | 697′ |
| FA Cup | 3 | 0 | 2 | 181′ |
Nevertheless, the Newcastle icon expects the FA Cup clash between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa to be a ‘fascinating’ one, with Emery’s side tipped to claim the victory on this occasion.
“I’m really looking forward to being at this game”, Shearer wrote in his column on the Betfair website (24 April).
“I think it’s a fascinating game – Villa have obviously had a poor result against Man City, but they are an excellent side and have got so many options now, in terms of the squad.
“He [Emery] can chop and change in forward positions – he left Ollie Watkins out at the Etihad after he ripped Newcastle apart at the weekend.
“So for him to be left out – he said it after the game, that he was fuming not to play against PSG – I guess it will have been exactly the same in midweek.
“I fancy Villa, I think they’ll beat Palace, but I think that it could be a great semi-final in terms of goals.
“Palace in forward positions with [Eberechi] Eze, [Jean-Philippe] Mateta and [Ismaila] Sarr – it’ll be a really interesting, exciting game with lots of goals, but Villa will come out on top.”
Emery must start Watkins at Wembley
Marcus Rashford has had an upturn in form since joining Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United in the winter transfer window, bagging four goals and six assists in 16 games.
However, it has been rather harsh on Watkins to not be given a start against PSG in both legs and then in the trip to Manchester City on Tuesday, 22 April.
If Emery opts Rashford over the 29-year-old again in the FA Cup, it will raise serious doubts over the striker’s future at Villa Park.
It would not be a surprise if Watkins is already considering a move away from the Birmingham-based club ahead of the summer transfer window.