Unai Emery makes huge Ollie Watkins call amid two changes – Aston Villa predicted XI vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
Ollie Watkins’ place in the Aston Villa team could be set to come under scrutiny ahead of Thursday’s clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The Villans will be desperate to bounce back with three points after they had their recent resurgence in the Premier League ended by Liverpool on Saturday night.
Aston Villa are well-placed in the Europa League, with two wins from their opening three games, although their last outing in continental action was the frustrating defeat to Go Ahead Eagles.
Nevertheless, they will surely fancy their chances of securing three points against their Israeli opposition in midweek, although that confidence could easily be affected by Unai Emery’s team selection.
Ollie Watkins to start as Lucas Digne axed vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
Watkins is completely out of form at Aston Villa at the moment, as he still has just one goal to his name in competitive action so far this season.
The frontman netted the opener in the 3-1 victory over Fulham at the end of September, but has since gone another six games in club action without a goal or even an assist.
The 29-year-old had another poor showing at the weekend, as he offered little against Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
Watkins won just 50 per cent of his duels against the commanding centre-back duo, and was often left isolated at the top of the pitch, with Evann Guessand the only Villa player who started the game to have had fewer than Watkins’ 18 touches.
However, Thursday’s Europa League clash should represent the perfect chance for the England international to build some much-needed confidence in front of goal, and with that in mind, Emery is likely to make a bold call and stick with Watkins to lead the line from the start.
Elsewhere in the team, Guessand’s anonymous showing at Anfield is likely to see him make way for Donyell Malen, while the boss may also be keen to hand Ian Maatsen a start, after Lucas Digne had a torrid time up against Mohamed Salah.
Aston Villa have shocking chance creation stats
Watkins is the main man for Aston Villa when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net, but he is also not the kind of striker who can do it all on his own.
| Team | Big Chances Created | League Position | |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 15 | 19th |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 13 | 11th |
| 18 | West Ham | 12 | 18th |
| 19 | Burnley | 11 | 17th |
| 20 | Wolves | 9 | 20th |
The former Brentford man is agile, and uses his clever movement to get away from defenders, but he doesn’t have the same raw pace or power as some frontmen elsewhere in the league.
With that in mind, he relies on his teammates to create chances for him most of the time, and that isn’t something that the B6 outfit have done overly well so far this term.
Their tally of 13 big chances created in the Premier League so far this season is only higher than that of West Ham, Burnley and Wolves, who have all had troubled starts.
It is easy to criticise Watkins for his lack of goals, but it is perhaps more fitting to attribute some of the blame to the quality of service that he has been receiving of late.
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