Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins has warned Unai Emery that he has 'a selection headache coming' after he impressed during Saturday's 4-1 victory over Newcastle United.
Despite shaking off a knee injury during the March international break, Watkins has found himself in and out of the starting lineup across Villa's last seven fixtures.
The England international went three successive games - including the Champions League double-header with Paris Saint-Germain - where he was only named on the substitutes' bench.
However, on his return to the first XI versus the Magpies, Watkins delivered a goal and an assist in a man-of-the-match performance.
With Villa facing Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, Emery now has a decision to make regarding who to select down the middle of his attack out of Watkins and Marcus Rashford.
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"I was not going to let my opportunity slip"
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the 29-year-old was not shy in stating his expectations regarding a starting spot going forward.
He said: "I think obviously being out of the team nobody is happy to sit on the bench. You always want to play in the starting lineup. Today, I was ready to go and I wasn't going to let that opportunity slip.
"We knew Newcastle were going to go man-to-man. Personally, I like it when teams do that. You're focusing on beating the defender you're up against and go from there. I think I got the better of [Fabian] Schar today and gave him a hard time."
Watkins added: "The 3-4 signings we made in January, players like Rashford and [Marco] Asensio coming in the quality means players like myself and players have to drop to the bench and there's going to be lots of rotation.
"The manager is going to have a headache as I'm banging on the door asking why I'm not playing."
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Will Watkins start against Man City?
Watkins's 82-minute appearance against Newcastle was the longest that he has been used in a single game since his outing at Brentford on March 8.
Since his arrival on loan from Manchester United, Rashford has only started three of his nine Premier League appearances, chipping in with one goal and two assists.
However, with his own eight-minute outing against Newcastle being the shortest time that he has spent on the pitch under Emery, it appears highly likely that Rashford will return to the starting lineup at the Etihad Stadium.
That is expected to be in place of Watkins. Although Emery has recently insisted that starting both players down the centre of his attack is in his thoughts, the Spaniard is not prepared to experiment with that strategy with the stakes currently so high.
Ahead of Sunday and Monday's Premier League games, Villa sit just two points behind third-placed Manchester City in the Premier League table.
Darren Plant
