Villa’s Watkins has returned to good form and Everton will want to be wary of him. — AFP
THE Villa Park fixture featuring Everton in the late game tomorrow will give the home team the chance to consolidate their position in third place, and maybe even skip up to second.
Unai Emery’s Villans could indeed find themselves in second place should they win and, for some reason, Manchester City come unstuck at Old Trafford today.
Aston Villa were comprehensively beaten by Arsenal, before thrashing Nottingham Forest and then being held to a scoreless draw by the sometimes gutsy Crystal Palace.
Against David Moyes’ Toffees, who can be erratic, Villa will be expected to win – and with some cushion at that.
At home this season, Villa have been among the more formidable sides.
In their 10 league outings at Villa Park, they have registered eight wins, a draw and a solitary loss. That includes eight victories in a row on home turf, quite a remarkable statistic.
Emery will be the last person to underestimate Everton, but he will also know that they need to win this fixture, if only to maintain their push for a Champions League berth in the top four.
Last season they came agonisingly close – just one place from qualification for Europe’s elite club competition – and in the end had to settle for the Europa League, albeit not too shabby a tournament either.
It is also a trophy that Emery has won four times in his managerial career. A fifth would be wonderful for this young and talented unit.
Tomorrow, Emery will surely look to the likes of Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Martinez, Amadou Onana, Ezri Konsa and Youri Tielemans – the half-dozen who form the backbone of his 4-4-2 formation, or 4-2-2-2 hybrid.
And when they get in the groove, as they have often shown in this campaign, Villa are a difficult side to break down, never mind beat.
The wily old character that he is, Moyes will be plotting to extinguish that very threat with an offensive launch of his own.
All of Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, James Garner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Dwight McNeil, Iliman Ndiaye, Beto and Jack Grealish have served the Toffees well this season, and they will be called upon to put in another solid shift.
Against this well-drilled and efficient Villa side, they will need to – lest Emery’s charges continue their march for a top four finish. — By SHAUN ORANGE
