Analysis: Five-star Ollie Watkins has Aston Villa focusing on those above

For that reason and more Saturday’s 2-0 win at Everton was perhaps the most important of Unai Emery’s Villa reign to date.

In a match where the outcome always had the potential to prompt a sizeable swing in mood, victory ensured Villa are very much looking up the Premier League table, hopes of a first top-half finish in more than a decade and just possibly a challenge for European qualification still very much alive.

Though the threat of being dragged back into a dogfight at the bottom end of the table always felt remote, defeat at Goodison Park would have left Emery’s team just six points above the relegation zone and set nerves jangling just a little more than before.

In that respect the result was welcome, not only for the head coach but also Villa’s board. It was they, ultimately, who took a calculated gamble in opting to wait until the summer before pursuing their primary transfer targets, believing the squad had sufficient depth to see out the season.

A fourth straight loss since the closure of the January window would have intensified concern they’d gotten the calculation wrong, particularly when combined with the news Philippe Coutinho is facing around a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Instead, it was all smiles thanks in large part to a player who has perhaps benefitted from the biggest call taken last month.

Selling Danny Ings was always going to put more pressure on the shoulders of Ollie Watkins but the latter has revelled in the extra responsibility, scoring in all five matches since his strike partner’s move to West Ham. Watkins is now on the longest scoring streak of any Villa player for 38 years and after a period earlier this season when you feared his game was in decline, he now looks better than at any time since his £28million move from Brentford two-and-a-half years ago.

His post-match claim to be targeting a goal a game the rest of the season might have been delivered with a smile but reflected the swagger now evident in a player who, while never less than dedicated, is at his best when he knows he has the confidence of his manager. In making him his main man, Emery has provided that in spades.

After scoring just twice in his first 14 appearances this season, Watkins now has seven in 12 since the Spaniard’s arrival. Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford might be England’s clear top two but no-one else is in better nick or making a stronger case for a call-up than Watkins, just a fortnight or so before Gareth Southgate names his first post-World Cup squad.

Granted, his goal on Saturday might have come from the penalty spot. But Watkins had already twice brought saves from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, first when he latched on to Boubacar Kamara’s lofted pass and then on the hour mark with a header the England No.1 brilliantly pushed on to the post.

The 27-year-old also impressed with his hold-up play and made a key contribution in the build-up to Villa’s second and clinching goal, scored by Emi Buendia.

That in itself was significant as while Watkins has been unable to stop scoring, the same could not be said for his team-mates with Buendia becoming just the third different player to find the net in the past five matches. If Villa are to sustain a challenge in the top half over the run-in, that statistic needs to change.

The other question is whether they can transfer their strong away form to matches at home?

Saturday’s win only widened the disparity. Of the six league wins so far of Emery’s reign, four have been achieved away from Villa Park. Even more tellingly, just four of 18 league goals conceded have come on their travels – with three of those coming at Manchester City. The clean sheet at Goodison Park was their third in away matches. They are yet to post a shut-out at home.

Much like previous triumphs, Saturday’s performance could never be described as vintage. Instead, it followed a similar pattern to wins at Tottenham and Southampton, with Villa toughing it out for the large spells before grabbing their chances when they came in the second half.

Just as against the Saints, they survived a scare with the match goalless. This time it needed a deft goal-line clearance from Tyrone Mings to prevent Neal Maupay from opening the scoring 10 minutes into the second half. Emi Martinez also saved from Amadou Onana before the break but otherwise the Toffees, the league’s lowest scorers, were predictably toothless. Once Watkins fired home from the spot in the 63rd minute, only one result ever looked likely.

Talk of challenging for Europe still feels fanciful but a return of 19 points from 11 league matches under Emery is comfortably top-half form and three of Villa’s four defeats have been against City, Arsenal and Liverpool. The home loss to Leicester and draw with Wolves are the only two results which could be termed truly disappointing.

Five of their next six matches are against teams below them in the standings, starting with Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace. Should Watkins continue in his current vein, he and Villa may soon start to believe anything is possible.