Aston Villa ‘look vulnerable at the back’ amid drop in form – pundit

Jason Soutar
Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard shouts at his team

Paul Merson can see Aston Villa leaking more goals in their Premier League match against Watford this weekend.

The Villans were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle on Sunday, four days after conceding three to Leeds as they drew with Marcelo Bielsa’s men.

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They have won one of their last seven matches and are in their worst run of form since Steven Gerrard replaced Dean Smith in November.

Aston Villa have a good chance to get back on track on Saturday afternoon against relegation-threatened Watford.

The Hornets are yet to win or score a goal since Roy Hodgson’s appointment, but will also fancy their chances of winning at Villa Park.

And former Arsenal midfielder Merson has predicted a 2-2 draw between the two out-of-form sides.

“Both Aston Villa and Watford are coming on the back of poor performances,” Merson said (quotes via HITC). “But I think this will be a good game with a lot of goals.

“Watford have got to go swinging and look to collect as many points as possible, especially since Villa look vulnerable at the back.

“Roy Hodgson has got good players at Watford and if he gets his forwards clicking, he will win football matches.

“I think he’ll tell his players to keep it tight at Villa Park and turn to his forwards to potentially win them the game, so this could turn out to be an exciting contest.”

Meanwhile, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has insisted that Wilfred Ndidi is “worth much more” than £50m.

Aston Villa have been linked with the midfielder and they are reportedly willing to bid £50m for him this summer. Ndidi’s current contract expires in 2024.

Rodgers accepted that good players always attract interest, but believes the midfielder is happy at the club and sees no reason why he would not choose to stay.

“It’s both of those things – it’s how it works,” Rodgers said.

“A player of that quality and mentality, of course you want to always keep, but when you have that player, he will always attract interest.

“But he seems very settled here. I know he’s moved into a new house and he seems very, very happy. He’s a pleasure to work with and hopefully he can be around the club for many years.”

Aston Villa Paul Merson

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