Ollie Watkins maintained his form as Aston Villa rebounded from a loss to capitalize on negligent Nottingham Forest.
The England forward’s fourth goal in three matches contributed to Villa’s 11th consecutive home victory—their finest streak in 36 years—serving as an ideal reaction to the defeat at Arsenal four days prior.
John McGinn’s brace propelled Villa to second in the Premier League, 12 points ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea, despite Morgan Gibbs-White scoring a goal.
The hosts compounded Forest’s troubles by inflicting a fourth consecutive league loss for the first time in over two years, a stretch that led to Steve Cooper’s dismissal.
Sean Dyche’s team sits four points clear of the relegation zone and heads to third-from-bottom West Ham on Tuesday for an important reunion with ex-manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Other than an attempt from Omari Hutchinson, Dyche’s careless team struggled to pose a threat and could have fallen behind early if not for John Victor’s excellent save from Watkins.
However, Watkins—who netted only once in his first 19 matches this season—struck from 20 yards during first-half stoppage time before McGinn added a second goal shortly after the interval.
Gibbs-White calmly scored to make it 2-1, but goalkeeper John wandered off, allowing McGinn to extend Villa’s lead to two goals by hitting the open net from 35 yards.
Earlier in the season, some were dismissing Watkins.
The forward was excluded from Thomas Tuchel’s most recent England squad in November after having to pull out of the October squad due to injury.
His performance in the first half of the season had raised valid questions about his chances of making the squad for the summer’s World Cup.
Scoring just one goal in his initial 19 matches was underwhelming for a player who has consistently reached double figures since arriving from Brentford in 2020.
With six goals in his past eight matches, including one versus Forest on his 250th appearance for Villa, the 30-year-old is making a comeback.
His partnership with Morgan Rogers was again clear, as Rogers set up Watkins for his first-half goal, with the two having combined for 10 Premier League goals since last season, two more than any other pair.
With Evann Guessand representing Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations and Donyell Malen’s goals diminishing, Villa needed Watkins to rediscover his form.
It has made a stylish comeback, with doubles against Brighton and Chelsea propelling Villa into their high spot in the standings.
In the Midlands, they were careless, even prior to goalkeeper John’s moment of recklessness that allowed McGinn to score an important third.
They had already tuned out, anticipating the whistle, prior to Watkins’ opening goal in first-half injury time.
This follows Tuesday’s lackluster defeat to a weakened Everton team, and the red flags are evident for Forest.
Unai Emery’s team travels to Crystal Palace on Wednesday [19:30 GMT] and then visits Tottenham in the FA Cup on Saturday [17:45].
Nottingham Forest: will on Tuesday [20:00], play against West Ham and will reunite with Nuno for the first time since his departure in September, followed by Friday’s FA Cup third-round clash at Wrexham [19:30].
