Interesting – Ollie Watkins is predicted to pull out a last-minute comeback in front of Man City.
[Ollie Watkins] – On Wednesday, Aston Villa will play Manchester City at Villa Park with the knowledge that a victory would actually move them up to third place ahead of the busy holiday season, surpassing the current champions.
It has been a huge week for Aston Villa, and Douglas Luiz has determined who the key player is—and it’s not Emi Martinez, the World Cup champion.
Villa’s mercurial Brazilian midfielder praised the indestructible contribution of 14-goal top scorer Ollie Watkins as they approach Amen Corner in their surprising title challenge, with back-to-back home games against Manchester City and Arsenal.
If Villa take six points off last season’s top two, the phoney war will be over and the rest of the country had better believe it: Unai Emery’s side are genuine title contenders.
And if Luiz isn’t yet shouting the odds from the rooftops after Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, he is not whispering them from the cloakroom, saying: “I believe we can stay at the top of the league.”
Watkins’ superb last-minute header to rescue a point at the Vitality underlined his value to Villa, and Luiz grinned: “He is so important for us. He’s a good guy and he deserves this.
“We’re very happy for him, he’s deserved his moment and he saved us on Sunday. He’s more confident and I think now, at the moment, he is the best player in the squad.
Ollie Watkins is incredible…
“He scores goals, makes assists and everyone is so happy for him. I know Emi’s saves are so important too, but Ollie is the only one who can score a goal in the last minute, or create one. That is my opinion.”
Luiz admitted it’s a massive week for Villa, who will break a record going back to 1931 if they manage a 14th consecutive home league win against City on Wednesday night.
He said: “We are so excited for these two games. They are important for us, we are near the top of the table and need to focus this week and try to win both games.
At home, we feel so strong and certain that we can prevail. The week is going to be really tough, so we need to train hard. However, we know that we can prevail.
“This is the hardest game in the league to play. We must train diligently and make every effort to continue our work at home. I have a lot of faith in the organization.
We currently have a solid coach and are performing well; at home, we are quite formidable; away, we still need to make some progress before we can continue to lead the league.
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