(Credit: Imago)
(Credit: Imago)
Match

Ollie Watkins and John McGinn on verge of historic European feat for Aston Villa

Kyrenia Shipillis
Kyrenia Shipillis

Kyrenia will graduate with a Master's in Sports Journalism from St Mary's University, Twickenham in 2025. She spent several months working for the Non-League Paper and has written for the Sports Gazette. She has also produced written content for Connectsport.

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Ollie Watkins and John McGinn can make Aston Villa history if Unai Emery starts them against Young Boys.

Villa host Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. 

The competition has been full of surprises thus far, and Villa’s 2-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv means they are currently sixth in the Europa League.

Now, McGinn and Watkins will have the opportunity to improve their position and achieve personal glory on 27 November. 

Ollie Watkins playing for England looking concentrated
Watkins has had a difficult season (Credit: Imago)

Ollie Watkins and John McGinn set to become Aston Villa's most-used players in Europe

Watkins and McGinn could become the players with the most appearances for the Villans in a European competition if they play for Villa against Young Boys on Thursday, according to Aston Villa Statto via X on 26 November. 

Both currently have 28 appearances to their name and could surpass Gordon Cowans, who is currently level with them. 

  • Watkins has made four appearances and has started two this season
  • McGinn has also made four appearances and has started two 

Given Emery’s squad rotation thus far, even if both stars fail to start, there’s a good chance they’ll come off the bench for the Europa League clash. 

Ezri Konsa also makes the list with 26 appearances in European competitions for the Villans. 

How have Ollie Watkins and John McGinn performed in the Europa League? 

Watkins has struggled for Villa in the Premier League this season and has not been much better in the Europa League. 

  • He has failed to score a single goal in the competition 
  • He has missed two big chances 
  • Watkins has taken seven shots thus far 

In addition to this, he has failed to assist or create a big chance for his teammates, according to Sofascore. 

McGinn has fared much better: 

  • He has netted two goals in the competition 
  • He has recovered 3.5 balls per game 
  • McGinn has made 0.8 clearances per game 

Furthermore, he has also completed 100 per cent of his dribbles and 70 per cent of his long balls have been accurate. 

Villa are projected to go far in the Europa League, and there’s no doubt both players will want to make a difference if the club progresses to the knockout stages. 

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Ollie Watkins
John McGinn
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