Credit: Imago

Jacob Raw

Sat 25 April 2026 8:10, UK

Aston Villa‘s game against Fulham raises a big striker dilemma for Unai Emery concerning Tammy Abraham, despite Ollie Watkins‘ form.

The Villans travel to Craven Cottage to take on Marco Silva’s side this Saturday, with a 13-point gap separating the teams.

Fulham are looking to consolidate ahead of what will be a fifth consecutive season in the Premier League next campaign, while the Villans look to mathematically secure their Champions League spot.

Watkins bagged a brace and an assist in Villa’s 4-3 win over Sunderland, as Abraham’s late goal was the winner after a late comeback from the Black Cats.

Emery needs to figure out a way to start Abraham alongside Watkins, but that may prove difficult for the Villa boss.

This is why Tammy Abraham needs to start vs Fulham

Villa signed Abraham in the January window for a second time, and he has shown glimpses of his former self at Villa Park.

His late winner against Sunderland was a prime example of his ability to notch important goals, even when his side doesn’t look like scoring.

Abraham has started just one game out of a possible 10 in the Premier League since returning, and still boasts a high 0.85 goals per game ratio.

This and his 3.44 shots per 90 show that he is a clear threat when given the chance to play, though Emery has restricted his minutes.

The Englishman has a 60 per cent passing accuracy, but can create goal-scoring opportunities at the same time as being a threat, with a chance creation of 1.72 per 90.

Something always seems to happen when he’s on the pitch, and Emery has a dilemma of who to play and where, though really, both Abraham and Watkins need to start.

Watkins has eight goal contributions in his last six games, and apart from giving him a rest, it’s hard to justify dropping him.

But at the same time, Abraham deserves a proper run out, as Emery needs to figure out a solution.

Who could Unai Emery drop?

Emery has gone for a 4-4-1-1 formation on more than one occasion this season, and has played Morgan Rogers in the hole behind the striker, and even Evann Guessand before he left on loan this winter.

There’s no reason why Abraham and Watkins can’t play together in a similar type of set-up with Rogers on the left.

The east option is to drop Ross Barkley, who started in attacking midfield against Sunderland, picking up a low FotMob rating of 6.6.

It would mean that Emery would have to tweak his formation, but it’s a change that needs to be experimented with.