In the beacon of the 17th round of the English Premier League, the Villa team will welcome their rivals Manchester City at Villa Park. Ahead of the match, Villa striker Watkins spoke to the club's official interview, revealing his eagerness for the upcoming thriller, proud of his brilliant home record, and giving insights into the season's journey.
Watkins is in high spirits at the prospect of facing a tough opponent: "I'm looking forward to this clash, Manchester City are certainly a team to be reckoned with and their arrival at Villa Park will make the excitement at Villa Park even more intense. We are proud of our home record, we beat City 1-0 on this very ground last year and it was a proud week for the team and the club. I hope we can write again and give our fans a victory cheer."
Talking about the home glory at Villa Park, Watkins was full of pride: "Since the manager took over, we have made this place impregnable. We were amazing in our 15 home games last season, and it's made us believe that we can do wonders at home. With the full support of our fans, we would like to turn this place into a chilling fortress for our opponents and any opponent will feel our might on this hot ground."
Watkins emphasized that Villa will go all out for a win, regardless of the outcome of the game: "As I mentioned, we have shown resilience against tough opponents during the season, and even if we can't win, we will make sure that we don't concede any points and get more points for the team."
Speaking about the season, Watkins commented, "Overall, we started the season with a strong performance, but then suffered ups and downs. However, we have come out of the doldrums and continue to improve. Our aim is to push for the top four and ensure we are in the Champions League next year."
On his personal performance, Watkins confessed, "Personally, I've had my ups and downs this season. Due to the late return from the Euros, I have not been able to adapt to the pace of the game quickly, which is a huge challenge for me. But I will keep training hard to improve my form and bring more help to the team."
