Steven Gerrard 'under pressure' to solve Aston Villa's £55m puzzle

Former Premier League forward Noel Whelan thinks Steven Gerrard is "under pressure" to arrest Aston Villa's worrying form.

Villa have only won once in their last seven Premier League games and were defeated by relegation-threatened duo Newcastle United and Watford in their most recent outings.

Gerrard's side have also failed to score in their last two, with the form of strikers Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings coming under scrutiny once more.

Watkins and Ings they have scored just nine Premier League goals combined this campaign, as former boss Dean Smith and now Gerrard have struggled to find the right balance to compliment their qualities on the pitch.

And Whelan thinks both forwards have it all to prove to Gerrard in the closing months of the season.

He told Football Insider: “There’s no doubt that Gerrard is coming under some pressure now considering how he started in the job and how they’ve fallen off.

“There’s something clearly wrong because when you look at that attacking arsenal – there’s an abundance of options they can choose from. It’s quite frightening.

“They’ve got to learn how to break teams down. Teams understand how dangerous Villa are and will sit in with a low block.

“They’ve got to show more attacking presence, and there’s massive pressure on Ings and Watkins now.

“At the end of the day, they’re strikers – they are paid to score goals. That’s what we need to start seeing from them, a bit more of a clinical nature.”