Ollie Watkins has been simply unstoppable since being left out of England's March international squad—and the numbers tell the story. The Aston Villa striker has notched 12 Premier League goals this season, but what's remarkable is that nine of those have come after that snub. Across all competitions, he's scored 11 since March, even outpacing Harry Kane's 10 in the same period. His blistering form has been a driving force behind Villa's thrilling run to the Europa League final.

"I had a slow start to the season with a few niggles, and then being left out of the England squad gave me that fire in my belly," Watkins said. "A lot of people had written me off, and I used that as motivation to prove I can be back to my best—scoring goals and helping the team."

His performance against Liverpool was a masterclass in exploiting a high defensive line, constantly finding space to run in behind. Now, the ultimate reward would be a similar display in Wednesday's Europa League final against Freiburg in Istanbul, where Villa aim to end a 30-year trophy drought.

Since the last international break, no Premier League player has scored more than Watkins' nine goals—not even Erling Haaland, who sits second with seven. Among English players, only Morgan Gibbs-White (five) comes close. With the World Cup on the horizon, Watkins is arguably England's most in-form striker, but the real battle is for the backup role to captain Harry Kane.

Ivan Toney's prolific form in the Saudi Pro League makes direct comparisons tricky, but Watkins' 19 goals across all competitions put him five ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck, both of whom have returned to England contention recently. As former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie put it: "He's got to be on the plane."