Aston Villa have been dealt a blow ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League match against Manchester City.
After drawing 0-0 against Arsenal on Sunday, the Citizens are back on home turf again on Wednesday as they welcome Villa to the Etihad Stadium for their latest Premier League meeting.
Earlier in the season, the Midlands club secured a 1-0 victory over Pep Guardiola’s side at Villa Park and are currently one place and five points behind City in the league table.
Ahead of this midweek clash, the Villans have been dealt a big setback that could have a significant impact on their chances of securing a positive result against City.
Key Villa player ruled out of Man City clash
In his latest press conference, Unai Emery revealed that Ollie Watkins will not be available for tomorrow’s game against City after he picked up an injury during Villa’s 2-0 win over Wolves last weekend.
The striker was substituted at halftime in Villa’s win against their Midlands rivals at Villa Park on Saturday evening, with Emery saying after the game that Watkins had a problem with his hamstring.
This season has seen the Englishman start all 30 of Villa’s Premier League games, scoring 16 goals and delivering 10 assists along the way.
In fact, the 28-year-old has racked up more shots on target (40) than any other player in the league this season.
Watkins’ overall performances have earned him a strong season rating of 7.29/10 from WhoScored, making him the 10th-highest-rated player in the division.
This highlights how much of a crucial figure he is for the Villans and why his absence at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow will be a big problem for the away side.
Despite this, City will have to make sure they focus on themselves and walk away with all three points so they don’t fall even further behind Arsenal and Liverpool in the race to win the title.