Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Dean Smith claims that Aston Villa 25-year-old was “outstanding” on Wednesday
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith admitted that Ollie Watkins will be disappointed he didn’t score more during the eye-catching 2-1 away victory over Tottenham on Wednesday.
Villa came from behind in midweek to beat Spurs in the penultimate league game of the season, which finishes for them back in the Midlands this Sunday when they host Chelsea.
Watkins, 25, scored what turned out to be the winning goal, as he capitalised on a mistake to net his 16th goal of the season across all competitions.
If you consider it’s the striker’s first year in the top flight, 14 league goals has been a sensational return.
He scored on his senior England debut back in March, and he will nervously be waiting to see if he’s done enough to make Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s European Championships.
“He’s been outstanding,” Smith of Watkins after the Spurs win.
“He deserves everything he gets. Hopefully he’ll go score a few more on Sunday [against Chelsea] in front of the home fans. He earned that goal today with his relentless hard work. He’ll be disappointed he didn’t score more. Great performance.”
TBR’s View:
If Watkins misses out on the England squad, he can at least be satisfied that he’s given everything to get on the plane.
There is room for improvement when it comes to his finishing and he’s a motivated attacker that will want to score more goals, but his all-round game is exceptional.
He’s one of the rare forwards in the division that gives it 100 per cent with his high pressing of defenders for 90 minutes, with English rival Patrick Bamford another who springs to mind.