Aston Villa: Watkins, Cash and Luiz struggle vs Forest

Aston Villa failed to record a first away win of the season against Nottingham Forest on Monday, missing the chance to go into the top half of the Premier League in the process.

Steven Gerrard’s side once again struggled to create in the final third, with Ashley Young’s long-range effort cancelling out Emmanuel Dennis’ opener for the hosts.

The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who Villa’s three worst outfield performers were on the day to have featured for at least 60 minutes – could these players be fearing for their jobs once everyone is fit and fighting for places?

Ollie Watkins – 6.5/10

Watkins actually ranked in as Villa’s worst outfield starter, registering just one shot all game.

The centre-forward lost the ball on 14 occasions, was second-best in eight of his 12 duels and didn’t complete a single dribble. He also committed one foul and failed to attempt a cross or long ball. In fact, the late introduction of Cameron Archer seemed to add more spark than the former Brentford man provided all evening.

Matty Cash – 6.7/10

Cash returned to the side following a hamstring problem and ended with a 6.7/10 rating.

The right-back lost five of his nine duels and gave possession away a whopping 17 times. He also failed to complete an accurate cross from four attempts and made two fouls, struggling to impact the game on either side of the ball.

Douglas Luiz – 6.8/10

Last up is Luiz, who was the only central midfielder to play the entirety of the game.

The Brazilian lost nine of his 12 duels and somehow avoided a booking after committing five fouls. He also lost possession 16 times and completed just one of his seven attempted long balls, a big reason why Villa were unable to spring successful attacks from deep.

About the Author

Charlie Smith

Subscriber

View All Posts