Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was not too critical of striker Ollie Watkins in midweek.

The forward has been prolific in the Premier League so far this season for the Midlands club, as they sit in fourth place.

However, he drew a blank in a 0-0 draw against Ajax away from home in their Europa Conference League round of 16 first leg.

On Watkins, Emery stated: "Very very good defensive performance from Ajax. They have young center backs but lots of potential and Ollie Watkins is a high level in football as a striker and scored in the Premier League and they did a very good block but this is Europe.

“They are involved in Europe and it's a good opportunity to develop here with Ajax and the center-backs did very good work.

"It's very open and we're going to try and play imposing more today than what we planned. Feels strong at home with our supporters not like tonight because I think we didn't' show our potential collectively and individually."