Unai Emery has two strikers in excellent form, Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran. Both scored in the 3-1 win over Wolves in round 5 of the Premier League. However, the Aston Villa captain only used one of the two names in the starting lineup.
Ollie Watkins has scored three goals in his first five games of the season, while Jhon Duran has scored four in just 131 minutes of Premier League action, as well as a strike in the League Cup. The pair even came close to scoring their first Champions League goals when both were ruled out by VAR.
Since joining Villa in January last year, Duran has scored nine goals from the bench, averaging one goal every 84 minutes. The Colombian has shown remarkable progress this season but remains a reserve option. So why hasn’t Unai Emery named the Watkins-Duran duo in the starting line-up?
Since Duran joined Villa Park, both Watkins and he have started together just twice. However, both games have not produced positive results. In the first, against West Ham in March, Duran was substituted at half-time with Aston Villa losing 1-0 (the match ended in a 1-1 draw). The second was a 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace last season.
Duran has typically come on as a substitute for Watkins (18 times). Watkins has also come on as a substitute for Duran five times. The two have played together 26 times, but mostly for short periods. Before the Wolves game, the pair had only played together for more than 20 minutes five times.
Unai Emery doesn’t seem entirely convinced that they can work together effectively, but could the Wolves game change the Spaniard’s mind? It was the first time they had both scored while on the pitch, and Duran was instrumental in Watkins’ equaliser.
Picking both from the start would be a bold decision, especially as it would mean leaving out Morgan Rogers, who has been impressive. There is also reason to stick with the current tactic, with Duran regularly making the difference when coming off the bench. However, there is no denying that using both could bring some freshness to Aston Villa’s attack.
“We are learning, understanding how to use different players. I am happy that the players are performing well. The team needs excellent individual performances,” Emery shared.
Notably, the victory over Wolves showed that Unai Emery's options are extremely diverse. When plan A fails, they still have plans B, C or even many other options. This becomes extremely necessary for teams without many superstars in the squad like Aston Villa.
