Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa have had a difficult start to the new season.placeholder image
Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa have had a difficult start to the new season. | Getty Images
It has been a far from ideal start to the new season for Aston Villa and striker Ollie Watkins
There are some glaring issues which need solving in front of goal for Aston Villa following the club’s worst start to a Premier League season since 1997.
It is not often for any side to go the first four matches of a league season without scoring a single goal. Much less common for an Unai Emery Villa side who only failed to qualify for the Champions League on goal difference last season.
Star striker Ollie Watkins remains at Villa Park, but the 29-year-old has looked a shadow of his usual self so far this season. Registering 75 Premier League goals for the club in five seasons and 16 last term, Watkins is as close to a sure-fire bet for goals as you can get in recent years. But nobody in the Villans side has looked close to scoring so far this season, Watkins included.
AI predicts when Ollie Watkins will end his Aston Villa goal drought
We asked X’s Grok AI to predict when Watkins will end his goal drought for Villa, and the results were eye-opening. He is currently on a six-game dry spell dating back to last season and that is expected to continue.
Grok predicts that Watkins will break his duct on September 28, 2025, when Fulham visit Villa Park in what will be a must-win game for Emery’s side. While that will take his drought for Villa to nine matches in all competitions, the belief is that Watkins will find his shooting boots again just in time to inspire a return to goal-scoring ways for the Villans.
An EFL Cup tie with Brentford, a Premier League trip to a confident Sunderland side and a Europa League clash with Bologna lie in wait before the Cottagers visit Villa Park and Watkins is predicted to score “a tap-in off a corner”. But they all count.
How many goals will Ollie Watkins score this season?
We also asked Grok for their early prediction on how many goals Watkins will score for Villa in all competitions this season. The result was a drop-off from last campaign in some aspects, but an impressive return nonetheless.
Watkins will score a total of 17 goals for the Villans this season, according to AI - comprising of 13 in the Premier League, three in the Europa League and one goal in the EFL Cup.
Having also scored 17 last campaign, the expectation is that the 29-year-old will be the main man for Villa in front of goal once again. Though his league total will decrease from 16 to 13, his lowest return since 2021/22, his contributions in Europe will more than make up for it, as Emery looks to win the competition he has always specialised in throughout his managerial career.
Therefore, there is still reason to be patient. Watkins may have started the season slowly, but all the signs point towards a return to the score sheet soon. If Aston Villa can compete on several fronts this season, there is no reason why their record Premier League goalscorer will not be the main man once again as he looks to continue an outstanding Villa Park career so far.
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