Thomas Frank has one big obstacle to overcome ahead of Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Tottenham take on Aston Villa this weekend as two in-form sides meet looking to continue their impressive recent performances.
Thomas Frank will be mightily happy with his side’s start to the 2025-26 campaign, with Tottenham currently sat third in the top-flight with four wins from their first seven games.
Tottenham beat Leeds 2-1 at Elland Road prior to the international break last time out as Mohammed Kudus netted his first goal for the club to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches and keep their momentum going.
Unai Emery‘s Aston Villa team have enjoyed a real resurgence in recent weeks after a very slow start to the new season, with Donyell Malen shining against Burnley in their previous game as they themselves won 2-1 at Villa Park.
The Villans have won each of their last four across Premier League and Champions League outings, and Basque boss Emery will want to get another one over Frank as they meet again in North London on Sunday (19 October).
Thomas Frank has never beaten Unai Emery as a manager
Frank and Emery have faced off against each other five times while in charge of Brentford and Villa respectively, but the Dane is surprisingly yet to beat his Premier League counterpart in his career as yet.
His winless record against Emery works out to be the most he’s faced an opposing manager in the English top-flight without ever coming out on top, and so he will be aiming to end that poor run this Sunday with a win.
Emery has come out on top three times when they have faced off in charge of the Bees and the Villans, with his latest win coming in March as Ollie Watkins sealed a 1-0 triumph in West London.
Frank has been able to nab two draws against Emery up to now, the most notable of which being a high-octane clash which ended 3-3 at Villa Park in April 2024.
Frank and Emery have a lot of respect for each other despite one-sided record
Frank and Emery can each count themselves among some of the best managers in the Premier League right now, hence why it does come as a shock to think that the latter holds such a strong record over the former thus far.
In terms of bosses faced across his whole career as a manager, the Dane actually only has a worse record against Brendan Rodgers, with no wins, two draws and four losses in seven meetings with the Northern Irishman.
Despite this record, which has now been ongoing for two-and-a-half years since their first head-to-head, Frank and Emery share mutual respect for each other’s achievements, with the Spurs boss admitting in 2023 that his opposite number had been “very impressive” at Villa with a “clear identity and clear style.”
Emery shared similar sentiments vice-versa prior to their meeting earlier this year, as he said: “They are competing fantastic always with Thomas (Frank), achieving success the years he is a manager at Brentford.
“Every year, something different, even tactically, improving, getting better. I respect them a lot. I respect the manager.”
It is clear that the two will be getting on when it comes to Sunday’s big clash, but as well as observing the niceties of their relationship, Frank will no doubt be hoping that his side can finally end his hoodoo against Emery once and for all.