Aston Villa predicted line-up vs. Bournemouth: Ollie Watkins latest amid five major changes

Aston Villa could theoretically move to the top of the Premier League table with a win over Bournemouth this weekend, depending on how results elsewhere pan out. The Villans are just two points behind leaders Arsenal heading into their trip to the south coast on Sunday afternoon, and in the unlikely event that the Gunners drop points along with fellow high-flyers Manchester City and Liverpool, Unai Emery's men could begin the new week at the summit.

Recent form is on Villa's side too, with four wins in their last five league matches, including an impressive away victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon. Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins were on target as Emery's side came from behind to win 2-1 in North London - a result that they replicated against Legia Warsaw in the Europa League on Thursday night. With Watkins ruled out through injury, Moussa Diaby and Alex Moreno provided the goals in that one.

As for Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola's project finally appears to have taken flight following a bothersome start to the campaign. Three wins in four have lifted the Cherries seven points clear of the relegation zone, and an assured display against a struggling Sheffield United last time out will have massively buoyed spirits around the Vitality Stadium.

But how will both sides line up when they face each other in Sunday's 2pm kick-off? We've taken a look at their respective team news and predicted XIs below...

Aston Villa Team News

The biggest concern for Aston Villa heading into the weekend is whether or not Ollie Watkins will be fit and available to travel with the rest of Unai Emery's squad. The striker was rested on Thursday after picking up a small knock, and while there is no concrete evidence either way with regards to his recovery, his manager is seemingly optimistic that he will be in contention to feature against Bournemouth. Speaking after the win over Legia Warsaw, Emery said: "He had yesterday small pain. Not very strong. We decided as well to rest him."

Asked if Watkins would be fit to face the Cherries, the Spaniard added: "We will test him, but hopefully yes. He was not available because 50 per cent in training he felt something, we didn't want to take a risk. We also wanted to get minutes with Jhon Duran."

Elsewhere, Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings remain long-term absentees for the Villans having both suffered ACL injuries, while Bertrand Traore is out with a muscular complaint. Nicolo Zaniolo came off the bench against Legia Warsaw to seemingly dispel any lingering doubts over his fitness, but Boubacar Kamara is set to miss out through suspension.

Aston Villa Predicted XI

Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne; Nicolo Zaniolo, Youri Tielemans, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn; Moussa Diaby, Ollie Watkins.

Bournemouth Team News

For their part, Bournemouth have a number of injury concerns of their own to contend with and are set to be without the likes of Max Aarons, Tyler Adams, Ryan Fredericks, Emiliano Marcondes, Darren Randolph, and Alex Scott. Defensive stalwart Lloyd Kelly is also a doubt due to an ongoing thigh complaint, but may still feature.

Bournemouth Predicted XI

Neto; Adam Smith, Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi, Lloyd Kelly; Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Justin Kluivert, Philip Billing, Marcus Tavernier; Dominic Solanke.