Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) continued his fine pre-season form on Sunday, as Unai Emery took his Aston Villa squad to Marseille and Villarreal over the weekend.
Manchester City were also in friendly action against Palermo, as Pep Guardiola’s team won their only pre-season game of the summer.
The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from these matches are discussed in the Scout Notes article below.
Our pre-season minutes tracker is already fully updated from these fixtures, as is our pre-season guide.
MARSEILLE 3-1 ASTON VILLA
VILLARREAL 0-2 ASTON VILLA
- Goals: McGinn | Watkins, Buendia
- Assists: Ramsey | Buendia, Kamara
WATKINS READY
Ollie Watkins looks more than ready for the upcoming season, having pounced on a rebound to put Villa ahead in Spain on Sunday.
The forward has now netted in every pre-season friendly he has played this summer, with five goals in five matches.
This stands in sharp contrast to 2024, when Watkins was unable to participate in pre-season due to an issue he was managing from the Euros.
“Pre-season is crucial for yourself as a player. It sets the foundations for you going into the season. Last season I didn’t have that. I didn’t play in any pre-season games so I was trying to play catch-up. For me, it’s massive to play these games, feel good, get your confidence up and go into the season all guns blazing.” – Ollie Watkins
Emiliano Buendia (£5.5m) has certainly taken his chance to impress, too.
He was on the scoresheet against Villarreal, firing a shot into the bottom corner. He also claimed the assist for Watkins’ opener. It’d still be a huge surprise if he started against Newcastle United on Saturday, mind, even if Morgan Rogers (£7.0m) is ruled out through injury.
As for the Marseille takeaways, John McGinn (£5.5m) scored Villa’s only goal in a feisty 3-1 defeat, having been picked out by Jacob Ramsey (£5.5m). Ramsey was a constant threat down the left and was unfortunate not to register a second assist.
Elsewhere, new arrival Evann Guessand (£6.5m) was used from the bench in both friendly matches, playing around 45 minutes of football in total.
The Ivorian was deployed on the left in Spain, mostly adopting a narrow role that enabled Ian Maatsen (£4.5m) to overlap. He’s a versatile asset, however, with plenty of time spent on the right and through the middle at his previous club, Nice.
MALEN UNCERTAINTY
Emery mixed up his players across these two friendlies, with no indication of a ‘best XI’ in either game.
It’s not ideal for Donyell Malen (£5.5m), who has been one of Villa’s standout performers in pre-season.
In the latest friendlies, he’s been used up front, sharing minutes with Watkins rather than playing on the right, where a starting spot is much more likely to open up for him.
Does this mean Emery views Malen as cover for Watkins instead of a regular starter on the wing? Recent evidence certainly supports this notion.
Elsewhere, Marco Bizot (£4.5m) started in goal against Marseille, and with Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) suspended, he should get the nod again against Newcastle.
On the fitness front, there was no Morgan Rogers across either match as expected. If we see him in training later this week, however, don’t bet against him starting on Saturday.
Aston Villa XI v Marseille: Bizot; Cash (Konsa 81), Bogarde, Mings, Digne (Moreno 81); Hemmings (Kamara 81), Onana; Iling Jr (Burrowes 81), McGinn (Tielemans 81), Ramsey (Buendia 68); Malen (Guessand 68)
Aston Villa XI v Villarreal: Martinez (Bizot 82); Rowe (Bogarde 82), Konsa, Pau, Maatsen (Moreno 82); Kamara (McGinn 71), Tielemans; Bailey (Hemmings 82), Buendia (Patterson 85), Jimoh-Aloba (Guessand 67); Watkins (Dobbin 82)
PALERMO 0-3 MANCHESTER CITY
- Goals: Haaland, Reijnders x2
- Assists: Lewis, Savinho, Mukasa
REIJNDERS SCORES TWICE
Has Tijjani Reijnders (£5.5m) just played his way into Pep Guardiola’s Gameweek 1 starting XI?
The Dutchman undoubtedly made an impression in Sicily, netting two second-half goals against Serie B outfit Palermo. Both strikes showcased his trademark late runs into the box.
He nearly grabbed a hat-trick, too, as he rounded the Palermo ‘keeper only to stumble at the crucial moment.
Still, with four shots in just 45 minutes of football, this was an impressive run-out.
“Yeah, we knew that he is a special player arriving into the box. He loves to do that. People in Italy know him perfectly. He scored two goals and he made a fantastic performance like the rest of his teammates. He can play as a holding midfielder but he loves to arrive to the box to help our strikers like Erling [Haaland] and Omar [Marmoush] and anyone who plays there. We are really pleased.” – Pep Guardiola on Tijjani Reijnders
Above: Tijjani Reijnders’ touch heatmap v Palermo on Saturday, via Sofascore
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) opened the scoring in Italy.
Pep Guardiola used a different XI in each half, with only the Norwegian featuring in both.
CHERKI BRIGHT
Another new arrival, Rayan Cherki (£6.5m), also caught the eye.
With Phil Foden (£8.0m) recovering from a knock back in Manchester (Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m) also wasn’t fit enough to travel), the Frenchman was deployed in a No 10 role behind Haaland.
He had a shot that was narrowly deflected wide and was arguably City’s best player, with so much of their play going through him.
Given that Omar Marmoush (£8.5m) wasn’t at his free-flowing best here, Cherki may be given an opportunity to start at Molineux on Saturday.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£6.0m) also featured in Italy, leaving a positive impression on Guardiola; however, James Trafford (£5.0m) had a much tougher time with some sloppy moments in possession.
“The three signings we have done before the World Cup were really good. Cherki, Ait Nouri and Reijnders. We haven’t played many games. We’ve trained well but now we’ll go back to Manchester, try to make a good week and prepare the games. I am happy [with the squad] since the USA and our World Cup. Our vibes there were really good.” – Pep Guardiola
Elsewhere, with Rodri (£6.5m) set to miss the start of the season due to slow recovery from a groin issue, Nico Gonzalez (£6.0m) and Ilkay Gundogan (£6.5m) shared the No 6 role.
Manchester City first-half XI: Trafford; Lewis, Khusanov, Stones, Ait-Nouri; Gonzalez, O’Reilly; Bobb, Cherki, Marmoush; Haaland
Manchester City second-half XI: Ederson; Nunes, Dias, Ake, Akanji; Gundogan, Reijnders; Savinho, Bernardo, Doku; Haaland (Mukasa 70)
