Despite the distraction of a UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG in midweek, Villa boss Unai Emery fielded a strong lineup against Championship-bound Southampton.
Unsurprisingly, it was the top-six chasing visitors who dominated the opening stages, with Marcus Rashford seeing an early effort blocked by Jan Bednarek and Aaron Ramsdale racing from his line to deny Youri Tielemans.
The one-way traffic showed no signs of slowing down as the first half progressed, but Villa continued to struggle in the final third, as Matty Cash and Tielemans failed to make the most of half-chances from range.
For all the visitors’ possession, managerless Southampton posed a threat at the other end, with Paul Onuachu directing a header into the side-netting as the scores remained level at the break.
Having won just two of their nine PL matches following a Champions League fixture this season, Villa knew a fast start was needed to the second period.
Amadou Onana saw a strike smartly saved by Ramsdale, and Bednarek headed narrowly over his own bar as the pressure continued to ramp up from Emery’s men.
The Villans were handed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the 69th minute when Bednarek brought down substitute Watkins in the box, only for Marco Asensio’s spot-kick to be denied by Ramsdale.
That miss didn’t deter the visitors though, who finally found a breakthrough just four minutes later, with Watkins racing onto Tielemans’ inch-perfect pass and lifting a magnificent finish over Ramsdale for his 14th PL goal of the season.
Armed with the momentum, Villa doubled their advantage with 11 minutes remaining when Malen picked up a neat pass from Morgan Rogers and rifled a clinical finish into the far corner.
That strike sealed the three points for Villa, who added further gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time when John McGinn converted a rebound from another saved Asensio penalty.
As a result, Villa have moved into the Champions League qualification spots after a ninth win in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Southampton remain one point shy of the lowest-ever points tally in PL history.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)