Aston Villa's England striker Ollie Waktins missed his side's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City this week
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins(Image credit: Getty Images)
Aston Villa host Brentford on Saturday afternoon as the Unai Emery’s men look to get back on track following Wednesday night’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.
The Villans are locked in a battle with Tottenham for fourth place, and currently sit two points ahead of Spurs, having played a game more.
With just one win in their last four Premier League games, the West Midlanders know they need to find some consistency but are sweating on the fitness of leading scorer Ollie Watkins, who suffered a hamstring injury against Wolves last weekend and missed on the midweek trip to the Etihad.
Will Ollie Watkins be fit enough to play for Aston Villa against Brentford on Saturday?
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery (Image credit: Getty)
Villa boss Emery addressed the matter of Watkins' fitness in his post-match press conference following the defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday evening.
"Ollie Watkins, tomorrow we will check him if he’s getting better for Saturday," he said.
This comes after the Spaniard said he did not want to risk the England man during the second half against Wolves last weekend, when Watkins was withdrawn at half-time.
“He was feeling something in his hamstring. We decided not to play with the risk,” he said.
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Emery faces the media on Friday afternoon to preview his side's clash against Brentford, where he will likely issue a further update on Watkins.
Watkins has netted 16 goals and registered 10 assists for Villa in the league this term, sitting behind only Erling Haaland in the Premier League goalscoring charts. Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz are also into double figures across all competitions for the Villans this season.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include tomes on Leeds United and the England national team.
