Ollie Watkins earns immediate recall as Unai Emery axes breakout star – Aston Villa predicted XI vs Bournemouth
Ollie Watkins is expected to come straight back into the side when Aston Villa face Bournemouth on Saturday.
The striker missed Villa’s 1-0 loss to Brentford last time out, and there were concerns that he was set for a spell on the sidelines.
However, Unai Emery confirmed that Watkins will be fit for the Vitality Stadium clash on 7 February in his pre-match press conference.
As a result, the England hitman could return to the starting line-up immediately, as the B6 outfit try to bounce back.
Who could Emery axe for Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
Emi Martinez is expected to keep his place between the sticks, despite making no saves, one high claim and one punch against the Bees, per Sofascore.
Emery is predicted to persist with the same backline of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen for the clash with Andoni Iraola’s side.
The latter was particularly impressive last time out, making three key passes when he was going forward, and winning seven of the eight ground duels that he contested, for an 87.5 per cent success rate.
| Stats | Maatsen vs Brentford |
| Key passes | 3 |
| Tackles (won) | 6 (4) |
| Ground duels (won) | 8 (7) |
| Aerial duels (won) | 4 (1) |
In the engine room, Amadou Onana is back in contention and the Belgian is expected to come back into the side to partner Douglas Luiz, with Lamare Bogarde axed.
Bogarde could be an unfortunate casualty of the strength of the Villans’ squad, he has had a breakout campaign, but the £50million man offers more quality.
The Dutchman completed 90 per cent of his passes against the London side, but he made just one pass into the final third and won two of the four ground duels that he attempted, for a 50 per cent success rate.
Jadon Sancho is predicted to start on the right flank, with Morgan Rogers on the opposite wing, with Emery potentially changing his number 10.
Emi Buendia could lose out, with Harvey Elliott expected to be handed a chance, as he has been a part of the squad lately after his previous exile.
Elliott created one chance and had four touches in the opposition box in an encouraging 13-minute cameo in Villa’s last game, and he should be rewarded.
Finally, Watkins is predicted to replace Tammy Abraham after the encouraging update from the manager ahead of the contest.
How do Aston Villa beat Bournemouth?
The key for the visitors is to start fast and get going in attack, as that was their Achilles heel against Keith Andrews’ side.
The Bees had a man sent off and still held on to win, so if the Villans can get going straight away against Iraola’s charges and score early, they could control the game.
That will be what Emery hopes happens, but whether his side can actually achieve it is a completely different matter.