Dream Team bosses ditching Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers despite sparkling performances against Liverpool

ASTON VILLA warmed up for the Europa League final with a thumping win over Liverpool on Friday night.

Ollie Watkins (£5.7m) and Morgan Rogers (£5m) carved up the Reds to earn 36 Dream Team points between them, a huge return for two of the most popular players in the game.

Watkins continued his fine form with two goals and an assist for a 21-point haul, making him the outright best performer of Gameweek 36 at this stage.

The England striker has scored 10 goals and provided four assists in his last 12 games in all competitions, an explosive spell that has catapulted him up to fourth in the rankings among assets in his position.

Having been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s last squad, the 30-year-old will surely represent the Three Lions at this summer’s World Cup.

As will Rogers, who banked 15 points via a goal and an assist against Arne Slot’s troops.

The ex-Middlesbrough midfielder has registered 25 goal involvements this season.

Elliot Anderson (£4.3m) also notched 15 points over the weekend and the England pair are the joint-best midfielders this Gameweek but Rogers has another fixture still to come, the small matter of Wednesday night’s Europa League final against Freiburg.

In fact, Watkins and Rogers wouldn’t have to do much in Istanbul to finish the Gameweek as the two best performers among all players.

Usually, this would prompt a wave of transfers as Dream Team bosses tend to follow the form guide but there are other factors to consider at the back end of the season.

If the Villains triumph in midweek then who would blame them if they failed muster much motivation for their trip to Manchester City on Sunday?

Unai Emery’s side have already secured qualification for next season’s Champions League and so there’s not much standing in their way of a party if they defeat Freiburg.

Furthermore, players expecting to be at the World Cup will naturally be inclined to favour energy conservation and injury prevention in any fixture that is essentially a dead rubber.

More than a few Dream Team managers have already anticipated Villa hangovers as Watkins and Rogers are currently the two most transferred-out players ahead of the Gameweek 37 deadline.

A reminder that Crystal Palace will be the only team to play twice in Gameweek 37, courtesy of their own European final against Rayo Vallecano, three days after they host Arsenal on the Premier League’s final day.

The Gunners will then face PSG in the Champions League final, the only fixture in Gameweek 38 and the very last point-scoring opportunity of the 2025/26 season.

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