Stevie of EyeTestFPL casts the spotlight on more Fantasy Premier League (FPL) options that have caught his attention, using ‘eye test’ screenshots and information from our Premium Members Area.
With double-headers in Gameweek 36 and 37 and the visit of bottom-of-the-table Norwich City up next, Aston Villa sit near the top of our Season Ticker for ease of fixture for the run-in.
So it’s with that in mind that Stevie switches his focus to the Villans, whose form has dipped over the last month or so.
Ollie Watkins’ directness
Ever since conceding three goals against Leeds United in Gameweek 24 and suffering two subsequent, successive league defeats, Steven Gerrard had had to rethink his defensive approach and come up with a solution that would tighten things up at the back.
His answer was a shift to a front-two system with a more rigid midfield base, which subsequently laid the foundations for a more direct playing style.
With two highly technical players such as Philippe Coutinho (£7.0m) or, when he is on the pitch, Danny Ings (£7.4m) behind him, Ollie Watkins’ (£7.4m) pace naturally pushes him towards becoming Villa’s blade tip.
His totals of 18 shots inside the box and six big chances ever since the tactical shift happened in Gameweek 27 are in the top five among all forwards.
The biggest question mark for him, however, is not the number of chances he gets, but whether he can convert them into goals.
Despite getting the majority of the opportunities that Villa have created thus far, Watkins has had a track record of disappointing owners with his wasteful finishing ever since his arrival in the division last season. And frankly, there has not been much improvement this season, either.
Often, anticipating what the former Brentford man is thinking to do when inside dangerous areas usually does not require much invention of the mind. Being a heavily right-footed player, his tendency to shift to his stronger side usually makes the job easier for the opposing defenders to first close off the inside channel before forcing him into his weaker left foot instead.
Finding an opening from the other side has not been easy either as he is often left with two undesirable options of either shooting from the tightest of angles or cutting inside with his weaker left.
His best chance of scoring then would probably come from a situation where he has succeeded in getting behind the last line of defence without receiving much interference from the opposition defenders.
However, despite not being the most clinical of finishers, Watkins still remains Villa’s point of attack where most of the goalscoring opportunities would likely fall. Whether or not he could turn them into goals is less of a certainty.
“I thought Ollie was fantastic in the second half, really selfless running and I thought he made it a real tough 45 minutes for the two centre-backs. That’s what we want from him and I thought the only thing missing from his performance today was a goal.” – Steven Gerrard on Ollie Watkins, after Gameweek 34’s goalless draw with Leicester
