Watkins' personal targets can help Villa achieve their goals

Ollie Watkins has rediscovered his scoring touch at just the right time for Aston Villa. 

After a barren spell, goals in the recent games against Newcastle and Sheffield United have seen the England international bring his tally to 16 for the season. 

Ahead of tonight's FA Cup fourth round replay against Chelsea, with a Premier League match to come against Manchester United this weekend, we turn the spotlight on the talented striker. 

Complete striker

Watkins, 28, made six appearances without scoring before ending that run in Villa's 3-1 home defeat by Newcastle. 

He then netted in the 5-0 win at Sheffield United on Saturday — a game in which he also produced two assists. 

Unlike many strikers, Watkins' contribution does not begin and end with finding the net. 

During his six-match goalless spell, he provided two assists in Villa's 3-2 win over Burnley. 

Watkins has not only scored 16 times across all competitions this season but also managed to create a further 12 for his team-mates. 

Those 28 goal involvements have come from 32 appearances. 

When you add in his pace, running off the ball and pressing ability, Watkins is arguably the most complete striker currently playing in the Premier League. 

Looking sharp

After beating the Blades, Watkins spoke about a performance which saw Villa looking back to their razor-sharp best. 

He said: "When we focus and battle as a team, our football qualities come out. Then we get good results like that. 

"There was a spell when as a team we were slightly off it. 

"Maybe not having space in transition, maybe playing a bit too slow and teams were showing us respect and making it hard for us by having bodies behind the ball. 

"Here, there was a lot more space than we thought there would be and we punished them." 

When there are gaps to run into behind an opposition defence, there are few more dangerous strikers than Watkins. 

That could be good news for Villa as they go into two huge fixtures against teams that will need to try and force the issue. 

Chelsea have lost their last two games and manager Mauricio Pochettino is under pressure. 

United, meanwhile, have rediscovered some form of late and are looking to get their Premier League campaign back on course at Villa Park. 

Lofty goals

Unai Emery's team are fighting for Champions League qualification and remain involved in the FA Cup and Europa Conference League. 

For Watkins, there are also some personal targets to try and hit. He is in the race to win the Premier League's Golden Boot and will be looking to secure a place in the England squad for Euro 2024. 

With three goals from nine caps, he has not always looked convincing in appearances for his country. 

The forward now faces still competition for his spot from Ivan Toney, who recently returned to action with Brentford. 

Watkins is not a man who needs extra motivation to perform but the fact that he has everything to play for can only be good news for Villa.