Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was asked if fans can expect to see Donyell Malen playing alongside Ollie Watkins with regularity
Unai Emery has warned Aston Villa fans not to expect a regular strike partnership of Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen.
Malen started against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night and doubled Villa’s lead before the hour mark from the penalty spot after Ezri Konsa was fouled in the box.
Watkins then came off the bench for the final 25 minutes of the game, leading the attack with Malen playing just off him.
It’s a combination that worked to devastating effect a month ago in the home win over Burnley, which Villa won 2–0.
Malen scored both goals that day as he dovetailed effectively with Watkins, exploiting the space created by his strike partner to net his first two goals of the campaign.
Villa have struggled for goals so far this season, only scoring nine in their first 10 league games, and many will view playing Malen alongside Watkins as a solution to their goalscoring woes.
After the Maccabi match, Emery was asked whether the pairing of Watkins and Malen was a tactical plan he intended to use more consistently.
“I did it. Today, I wanted to manage it, and I extended the match we played together against Burnley,” Emery said of playing Malen with Watkins in the second half.
“But my priority is, tactically, to feel strong in our structure. Sometimes we can use those players together, because before I did here after I arrived, sometimes playing with Danny Ings and Watkins, and then Duran and Watkins, now Malen and Watkins.
“But the priority is to try and get our structure strong for everything, because football in 90 minutes is about attack and defence.
“Also, getting good positioning with the different qualities of our players to dominate with the ball, with duels, and our capacity to run in behind, our capacity to keep possession, and keep balance in recovering the ball.
“This is the tactical decision I prioritise in each game. Today, I tried to get minutes together to get them experience and more information.”
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Watch Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv on TNT Sports
Aston Villa continue their UEFA Europa League campaign as they host Maccabi Tel Aviv on November 6. Fans can watch the game on the TNT Sports Prime Video channel.
