Watkins On Target As Aston Villa Return To Winning Ways

Ollie Watkins ended a six-match goal drought as Aston Villa boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League with a comfortable win over relegation-threatened West Ham.

The forward was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad earlier this week but appeared keen to impress and was rewarded for his efforts in the 68th minute, doubling his side’s lead when he prodded in the rebound after Mats Hermansen saved from Morgan Rogers.

Unai Emery’s side had earned just nine points from their previous 10 Premier League matches and their chances of a top-five finish were at risk of slipping away after three Premier League defeats.

But, buoyed by reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League in midweek, Villa were a constant threat in a marked improvement from their recent league form.

Captain John McGinn opened the scoring with a sweet left-footed strike from the edge of the area, teed up by Jadon Sancho in a set-piece routine straight off the training ground.

That was just one of many Villa chances in the first half with Watkins also twice going close and Lucas Digne firing wide.

The hosts also had a penalty decision overturned when Konstantinos Mavropanos clipped Watkins in the area – referee Paul Tierney was sent to the monitor by the video assistant referee (VAR) and quickly changed his decision.

It was a deserved victory for a side hunting a fourth successive season of European football with the Premier League’s top five all but guaranteed a Champions League place.

Villa will enter the international break fourth in the top flight, five points clear of Liverpool in fifth, while West Ham remain 18th, one point from safety.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Aston Villa’s recent slump has also coincided with McGinn missing 10 games with a knee injury.

In that time they went out of the FA Cup, and lost three league matches as well as drawing another two.

So the Villa captain’s presence was a welcome one in midfield and it was not just the Scot who seemed desperate for Villa to get back to winning ways.

Watkins led the line brilliantly as he tried to show England manager Tuchel what he is missing.

The striker’s recent record has been dismal – just one goal in his previous nine matches – but he showed his quality here to push his claims to be England’s favoured striker behind only Harry Kane.

The sole criticism was that Villa only made one of their 14 chances – the most they have had in a Premier League first half since October 2023 – count by half-time.

The contest was more even in the second half but it never felt like Villa were at risk of throwing away the three points.

They have been made to rue missed opportunities of late with the worst shot conversion rate in the league this calendar year.

But this was a more efficient display with two goals and a 200th Premier League clean sheet at Villa Park.

West Ham’s recent upturn in form has offered a faint glimmer of hope as they continue to fight against relegation – they had earned 15 points from their previous nine Premier League games, one more than they had in their first 21 this season.

But a trip to Champions League-chasing Aston Villa was always going to be a difficult task and the Hammers looked flat as they struggled to work their way into the game.

It had been hoped winger Crysencio Summerville would be back from injury for the trip to Birmingham but the Dutchman was again absent and the Hammers have still not won any of their league games without him this season, with the number of matches now up to seven.

For all the positivity around the Hammers in recent weeks they will enter the international break in the relegation zone, having never really looked like threatening hosts Villa.

Their 29 points from 31 league matches this season means only in 2006-07 (34 games) and 2009-10 (33 games) have they gone later into a Premier League campaign without scoring more than 30 points.

Nottingham Forest’s win over Tottenham on Sunday put the East Midlanders three points clear of the drop zone and Nuno Espirito Santo will now use the two-week break to work out how to get his own side out of trouble.

What next for these teams?
This was the last match for both sides before the international break.

On their return, Aston Villa take on Bologna in the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday 9 April.

West Ham return to action sooner with an FA Cup quarter-final against Leeds United on Sunday 5 April.