Rashford and Watkins vying for start in glamour quarter-final against PSG
SELECTION CHOICE: Unai Emery’s team selection for the glamour quarter-final in Paris, will come under close scrutiny when it comes to his forwards.
HE may have escaped the glare of Old Trafford but Marcus Rashford is still very much the centre of attention at his new club Aston Villa, although in far more benign circumstances, ahead of the midweek Champions League trip to PSG.
Nobody is currently questioning the on-loan Manchester United striker’s application or attitude - something that was a daily occurrence over the final months of his time there.
But Rashford, and question marks over the fitness and form of England and Villa team-mate Ollie Watkins, mean that manager Unai Emery’s team selection for the glamour quarter-final in Paris, will come under close scrutiny when it comes to his forwards.
Watkins, with one goal in his last nine appearances, had been looking below his former lethal best, even before a knee injury hobbled him in recent weeks.
He has been nursed through his ailment by Emery and the Villa staff, with Watkins pulling out of the recent England squad as a precaution to rest the problem.
But Watkins has scored one goal in 10 games in the Champions League so far this season and, for the recent wins over Preston in the FA Cup and Brighton in the Premier League, he started on the bench, while Rashford was used as the orthodox number nine.
The pair could play together in Paris of course, if Rashford drops to one of the wing positions behind the striker, but the fact the on-loan forward only came on as a substitute against Forest may hint at Emery’s thought process for his Wednesday line-up.
Longer-term, with Villa still going for a “treble” of FA Cup, Champions League and top-four finish, Watkins rediscovering his goal touch, and fitness, is of great importance to the Villa manager.
“He had a problem but not now,” said Emery. “Now, this last week, before the match against Preston, he started training with us.
“He was stopping in the (international) break, but now he's feeling good. Of course, strikers, they need to feel comfortable.
“They need to get confidence, scoring goals, assists, playing and we will keep going with him positively because he's a very important player for us. He’s working and physically, he's good.”
Rashford, who ended a personal 14-match goal drought with three in the wins at Preston and Brighton last week, still showed that his finishing ability is not at its peak, late against Forest, being denied by Matz Sels when clean through on the keeper.
But his confidence and high-level play have been matched by Villa’s general improvements during an impressive winning streak. Whether that can continue in Paris - against a PSG side seen by many as Champions League favourites - is a very different question.
With Villa now in the thick of the chase for a top-five finish that will probably guarantee Champions League football next season, Emery also has to factor in a league visit to Southampton, sandwiched in between the two PSG ties.
Around the last round in Europe, and an easy last 16 success against Club Brugge, Villa picked up important away wins at Brentford and Brighton that catapulted them back into the thick of the battle for the top four. And the manager wants a repeat.
“We are motivated, we are excited, they are favourites,” said Emery, “We are going to try to play those two matches, preparing as best as possible, competing, how we have to adapt to them, how we can, as well, impose and dominate tactically.
“But there are seven or eight days starting on this Wednesday, and we are very, very motivated to prepare those matches because, between the PSG matches, we are going to face Southampton.
“And therefore we are doing today, as we did against Brentford and Brighton, it makes sense to to prepare Southampton as well as possible because we have recovered some distance with the opponents and we can't stop now.”
Early goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen, with Jota Silva responding with Forest’s second half effort, were the highlights of a captivating game, one in which playmaker Youri Tielemans again showcased the fine form that has made him such a key component of Emery’s side.
The Belgian was one of only three Villains - keeper Emiliano Martinez and forward Rogers the others - whom Emery felt it necessary to keep in his starting line-up from the midweek win at Brighton.
“He's been consistent, of course, although we are trying to identify if he needs some rest,” said Emery.
“But he did it, he rested some minutes at Preston, he rested at Brighton some minutes and today he played 90 minutes. But he is feeling good, he's feeling physically as well, playing in 90 minutes is more or less comfortable and of course, it's very important because he is a player, we need him to take the tempo on the field.”
: Martinez 7; Garcia 5 (Konsa 46, 5), Disasi 5, Mings 7, Maatsen 6; Onana 5 (Kamara 62, 6), Tielemans 8; Malen 7 (Ramsey 62, 5), Asensio 7 (McGinn 73), Rogers 7; Watkins 5 (Rashford 62, 5). Substitutes (not used) Cash, Digne, Torres, Olsen.
: Sels 7; Morato 5 (Boly 75, 5), Milenkovic 6, Murillo 5; Dominguez 5 (Sosa 74, 5), Yates 6, Anderson 7, Williams 7; Hudson-Odoi 8, Gibbs-White 7, Elanga 7 (Silva 46, 5). Substitutes (not used) Abbott, Sangare, Toffolo, Moreira, Miguel, Danilo.
: S Hooper 5
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