After boasting the best home form in the Premier League for the majority of the season, Aston Villa have really struggled at Villa Park recently.
The latest setback at home was this weekend’s entertaining yet frustrating 3-3 draw against Brentford.
Unai Emery’s side looked set to cruise to a comfortable victory after going 2-0 up just after the break, but by the 69th minute, the Bees somehow had a 3-2 lead.
The Villans managed to claim a point with a goal 17 minutes before time, but one player in particular had a quietly impressive game, even becoming as undroppable as Ollie Watkins.
Ollie Watkins’ performance in numbers vs Brentford
The former Bees player stung his old side once again yesterday, having such an influential performance after missing the previous game through injury.
The number 11 has arguably been the best centre forward in the Premier League this season, as over his 31 appearances, he’s netted 18 goals and provided ten assists.
Two of those goals arrived against Brentford, with Watkins scoring the opener and the late equaliser, both via his head.
It was yet another typical number nine performance from the England international, winning seven of his ten duels and winning three fouls for his side, but there was one player who was just as impressive, arguably cementing himself as another undroppable figure alongside Watkins.
Aston Villa's 3/10 star was saved by Watkins against Brentford
Aston Villa dropped more points in the Premier League this afternoon
ByRoss KilvingtonApr 7, 2024 Why Youri Tielemans is now undroppable
Since moving to Villa from Leicester City on a free transfer, Youri Tielemans has slowly started to cement himself as an important player in the side.
Over his 28 Premier League matches, the Belgian midfielder has been utilised in plenty of roles, playing in his usual centre midfield position as well as a second striker at times.
However, Tielemans’ role in the side is set to become much more important over the next two games in particular, with Douglas Luiz now missing the next two games due to suspension.
The Brazilian has been absolutely superb this campaign, scoring nine goals and providing five assists in 31 outings, so the former Fox has huge shoes to fill in his absence.
Luckily, that shouldn’t be too much of a difficult task for the former Anderlecht ace, as displayed via his stats against Brentford.
Tielemans was extremely impactful against Thomas Frank’s side, particularly on the ball, where he showed his technical quality.
Assists
1
Pass accuracy
90%
Touches
78
Key passes
2
Possession lost
8
From the first minute to the last, the number eight controlled the tempo and dictated the play from deep, as shown by his 90% pass accuracy and 78 touches, with Birmingham World reporter Charlie Haffenden handing him a 7/10 match rating.
Despite being a creative playmaker and picking up an assist for Morgan Rogers’ goal, Tielemans only gave the ball away eight times, which provided Emery’s side with much more control bar the ten minutes of madness.
Although he may not provide quite the same level of defensive support as Luiz, the 26-year-old is certainly the best replacement for the Brazilian in the starting lineup, and he may become just as important as Watkins over the next few weeks.
