ASTON VILLA SECURE HISTORIC WINNING STREAK: OLLIE WATKINS PRIMED FOR GOAL-SCORING BLITZ AGAINST CHELSEA
Ollie Watkins is "primed" for a scoring spree as 3rd-place Villa prepare for crunch games at Chelsea and Arsenal.
Ollie Watkins, the England striker, seems ready to score a bunch of goals, which could really help Unai Emery's team as they try to win the Premier League.
Let's be honest, this Premier League season hasn't been that exciting so far.
One of the teams in the top five might get on a really good run in the second half of the season, but I doubt it. Arsenal has a lot of points, and they're tough to beat, but they're not exactly thrilling. Mikel Arteta's team works well, but Manchester City depends too much on one big Norwegian dude.
Enzo Maresca has a talented squad, but he seems too focused on messing with the Chelsea owners. Arne Slot at Liverpool has a big problem: even ignoring what will happen with Mo Salah or Alexander Isak's injury, their defence is looking shaky.
Aston Villa has already had a great run, winning seven Premier League games in a row as part of their 10 wins. Winning seven Premier League games straight IS great, but Unai Emery's team hasn't usually crushed other teams, winning most of those games by just one goal.
Some people might say that means they're due for a loss. But another way to look at it is that Villa might get even better.
For example, Watkins is likely to start scoring a lot soon. It's not like he's playing badly. This Villa team could still improve a lot.
If you care about expected goals, Villa would be 15th if that's how the Premier League was decided. That means either Villa is getting lucky, or those expected goals numbers don't mean much.
Basically, Emery has a balanced team with good players who are in their prime. He also has other guys who should become really good Premier League players, such as Donyell Malen, Ian Maatsen, and Evan Guessand, when he gets back from AFCON.
It might not seem like last summer's transfers did much, but they did. By keeping guys like Emi Martinez, Watkins, and Morgan Rogers, the team has been able to build a better understanding.
This Villa team looks like they know what they're doing. They know how to handle problems during games. They're not always amazing, but they're strong and organised.
Sure, the next two games—at Chelsea and at Arsenal—will be important, but they won't decide everything. Arsenal has been great, winning 12 games, but their 39 points are still a little low for a team leading the Premier League after 17 games.
The title race is open, and Villa is a big contender. It's that simple.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
_1777914166.webp)
Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
Must Read
