Unai Emery is trying to find the answers to Aston Villa’s problems.
It has been a struggle in recent weeks, with Aston Villa winless in six matches in all competitions and those woes continuing at the weekend.
Villa recorded a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace and are pushing further away from the European places.
Four points separate the Midlands side in eighth and second-placed Manchester City, which given the run the team has been on, is fortunate and they need to get their act together pretty quickly.
If that run continues in these coming weeks, then that gap from where Aston Villa are to the Champions League places will be in double figures.
If that isn’t to happen, then not only do Villa need to fix their pretty leaky defence, but they need Ollie Watkins firing at his best.
Aston Villa told Ollie Watkins won’t match last season’s performances
The England international scored against Palace to end his three-match run in the Premier League without a goal.
Watkins also scored on England duty, so in that regard, he is doing his part and ensuring his performances don’t drop.
But Tony Cascarino just can’t see how he will match last season’s tally and stated that it is going to be ‘harder’ for him, as he told talkSPORT.
“Villa aren’t as quite as good as they were last season,” said Cascarino. “For whatever reason, they just don’t quite have that edge about them. They are still a good side and I think they will still be closer to the top six. They just aren’t quite as good.
“Watkins was instrumental last season and the reason why they got to Champions League football. What did he get? 20, something like that. Around 20.
“I think it will be harder for him this year to get to that amount. But I still think he is capable of getting +15.”
Watkins this season v last season
Yes, Watkins and those around him need to put their chances away because, as much as the defence is an issue, those further ahead aren’t helping matters either.
The team as a whole needs to be more ruthless in front of goal because Villa should be putting teams away and they simply aren’t – Villa’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth last month is a case in point.
As posted by Transfermarkt, Watkins hit 27 goals in all competitions last season, including 19 in the Premier League and a league-high 12 assists.
| Competition | Apps | Goals | Assists | Minutes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Premier League | 37 | 19 | 13 | 3.226′ |
 | Conference League | 10 | 5 | – | 755′ |
 | FA Cup | 3 | – | – | 200′ |
 | UECL Qualifiers | 2 | 3 | – | 97′ |
 | EFL Cup | 1 | – | – | 45′ |
| Total 23/24: | 53 | 27 | 13 | 4.323′ | |
If you look at his numbers during the early few months of this campaign, then he is going down the same track, in terms of goals in the Premier League.
At the rate he is going, Watkins will hit around the 19 mark again, but perhaps he won’t be able to match the assists because that creative side of his game has dropped off.
| Competition | Apps | Goals | Assists | Minutes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 12 | 6 | 2 | 938′ |
 | UEFA Champions League | 4 | – | 1 | 235′ |
| Total 24/25: | 16 | 6 | 3 | 1.173′ | |
