Ollie Watkins has been speaking to the media ahead of the Premier League clash between Leeds and Aston Villa at Elland road on Sunday.
The much-anticipated return of Premier League football kicks off this weekend and for Leeds, it comes against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins, the striker who was rumoured to be a target for The Whites recently, has shared his thoughts on Elland Road. The England international only had one word to describe the home of Leeds United – Hostile.
As quoted by Aston Villa’s official website Watkins said “It’s always hostile going to Elland Road, but whenever we’ve gone there, we’ve done really well, they’re in a good bit of form, so it will be a difficult game”.
It will be more than a month since the Leeds fans watched the whites play at home in the Premier League with the last game coming on the 30th of August, which was the 1-1 draw with Everton. Elland road will certainly be raucous when the fans support their side for the first time in weeks following a series of postponements due to the death of Queen Elizabeth and the international break.
The last time Villa travelled to Elland road Steven Gerrard watched his side run riot as Aston Villa recorded a 3-0 victory. Not only did Leeds lose that game, but there were genuine relegation fears inside Elland road afterwards. Whilst nobody can forget the crazy scenes when the two sides met in the Championship, when former coach Marcelo Bielsa ordered his side to allow Aston Villa to score an equaliser after the Villa bench, staff and players adjudged Mateus Klich’s goal to have been dishonest.
Moment of madness. Leeds United v Aston Villa – April 28, 2019, Leeds United and Aston Villa players clash after Mateusz Klich’s goal.
Leeds are a side reborn under Jessie Marsch, with a squad overhaul and the capture of stars such as Brenden Aronson, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra. The Whites will be looking to get back to winning ways after a blip has seen them only record 1 point from their last three games, whilst Aston Villa are yet to win a game away from home, making the game a crucial one for both sides, even at this early stage of the season.
Leeds have a good set of fixtures coming up before the World Cup, with some games they will feel they can get maximum points from. They also have much tougher games against Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool to look forward to, so games against sides that are likely to be around them are of greater importance.
What do fans think about the game on Sunday? Can Leeds take all three points? Let us know in the comments.
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