Aston Villa boss Unai Emery wants to test strike partnership of Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery plans to try both Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins up front together but stressed he needs ‘time’ to test it out fully.

Speaking ahead of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, Emery revealed plans to form a strike partnership of Rashford and Watkins.

It doesn’t sound like it’s coming soon though, as the Spaniard insisted there isn’t enough time left in the season to experiment and implied it relies on Rashford returning to Villa Park upon the expiry of his loan deal.

“The next step, if I have time, is to play them together. We did with Rashford playing on the left side, but now we want both playing as strikers. I want to practice and test, but not now, there isn’t enough time.”

Rashford’s career has enjoyed a steady revival since leaving boyhood club Manchester United in January, tallying three goals and five assists in 14 outings for Villa.

In last week’s first leg Emery opted to start Rashford as the nine, leaving Watkins on the bench and that was the case again for Saturday’s 3-0 win at Southampton.

Watkins later explained his frustration, telling GOAL he “isn’t happy to sit on the bench” but respected the manager’s decision.

After replacing Rashford and opening the scoring at the weekend – he looks in pole position to lead the line against PSG.

Watkins is one away from matching Gabriel Agbonlahor’s club record 74 Premier League goals and with six games to play, you’d back him to at least get on .

WATCH: Unai Emery on Rashford-Watkins headache ahead of PSG second leg

Why don’t football teams play with two strikers anymore?

Two-striker formations are a thing of the past. The 4-4-2 was once the most popular set-up in football but as the game has evolved, it’s gone out of fashion.

According to Opta, 44% of starting line-ups in the 2009-10 Premier League season were 4-4-2s – steadily decreasing every year to an all-time low of around 6% today.

The main arguments are that a 4-4-2 lacks bodies in central midfield and unless you have a player like N’Golo Kante to cover as much ground as two men, you leave yourself vulnerable.

Many also suggested having just two in midfield was considered too rigid and flat to create chances – but Emery is one of the few romantics who has used the formation in recent history at both Villarreal and Villa.

There’s every chance we could see it in Birmingham next season if Rashford s permanently and Watkins snubs interest from clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool.