Ollie Watkins was signed by Aston Villa in the summer of 2020. The striker is in his third season as an Aston Villa player and is nearing his 100th appearance in the English Premier League. He is a goal scorer and has proved his worth in the top division. Danny Ings joined West Ham United in the summer, leaving Unai Emery with only one proper striker in the team. He gave Watkins a lot of responsibilities and relied on him to take his side over the line. Ollie Watkins started the season slowly but has now started to make his mark on the season. However, his hard work didn’t please the international manager, and he was left out of the latest international squad. We now look at some of the stats that show why Watkins deserved a chance to play for his country in the recent break.
A decent 2022/23 season
Ollie Watkins has played 26 games in the English Premier League this season. The 27-year-old has scored nine goals and also has five assists to his name. Watkins plays as the lone number line on the side and likes to operate in and around the box. The above touch map shows that Watkins likes to drift towards the left side during the match. He averages around 3.79 touches inside the opposition penalty box per 90 minutes. The pizza chart above shows the percentile rank of the team in comparison to other strikers in the league. Watkins has a decent percentile rank in attacking and possession stats. He is also ranked highly for contesting duels on the field. His overall game is what makes him a great team player.
Recent goal-scoring run
The 27-year striker has netted nine goals. He averages 2.01 shots per 90 minutes and has a high accuracy rate of 61.5%. Watkins takes the majority of the shots from inside the penalty box. He usually targets the centre or the left side of the goalkeeper. The striker has a high xG per shot.
In the last eight games, Ollie Watkins has shown a different form. He has scored six goals in the last eight games. Ollie Watkins has taken 19 shots and averages 2.3 shots per match. The accuracy rate is a bit high at 73.68%. Ollie Watkins’ recent goal-scoring run has been impressive, but it failed to catch the eye of England’s manager.
The all-around gameplay
Ollie Watkins is not only a goal-scorer but also a player who can create goals for his side. He has provided five assists in the current season. Watkins passes the ball 14.28 times per 90 minutes and has a 76.4% accuracy rate. These include 0.66 passes to the penalty box. Watkins likes to stretch the defence, which allows his teammates to get into goal-scoring positions.
As mentioned earlier, Ollie Watkins likes to drift wide. He has made some progressive runs down the left flank and averages 1.35 runs per 90 minutes. Watkins attempts 2.5 dribbles while making these runs and has a 49.2% success rate. Most of the dribbles outside the box have been successful. Watkins has also won a few free kicks from these dribbles as well. His excellent holding gameplay and endless running make him a good addition to the team.
Betting analysis
As per the 1×2 betting odds, Aston Villa’s odds of winning the match will lower when Watkins is in the team. He will also have a major effect on the over/under lines. The over lines are expected to thrive when he is playing. This means that the odds rate will lower.
Ollie Watkins will be disappointed on missing out in the international team. He is one of the most in-form players in the league. The striker will look to keep this consistency and earn more caps in the future.
