Time is definitely running out for Thomas Frank at Spurs
The performance was better in places, but the result still ended up the same. Spurs’ 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday night may have only been decided by a stoppage-time winner scored by The Narrative’s Antoine Semenyo, but losing again has only pushed head coach Thomas Frank’s feet a little closer to the fire at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
All of this makes it feel like a bad time for his team to be taking on Aston Villa, a team who remain on the fringes of the Premier League title race, despite having dropped five points in their last three matches following their goalless draw against Crystal Palace at the same time as Spurs were chucking a point away on the Dorset coast. Villa may have wobbled a little since the start of 2026, but there are no pitchforks currently being sharpened around Villa Park.
Aston Villa beat Spurs three times in 2025
We’ve all been here before, of course. These two teams met at Villa Park on the 9th February last year in the Fourth Round of this very competition, with Villa winning 2-1, the first of three consecutive wins they managed over Spurs during 2025.
Spurs fans looking for a positive omen might wish to console themselves with the fact that their team have beaten Aston Villa on their way to winning the FA Cup no fewer than four times, having done so in 1921, 1961, 1962 and 1982.
Cristian Romero’s leadership has been one of Spurs’ few strengths over the last couple of months
Few Spurs players have emerged from the last couple of months with much credit in the bank, but one of those who has is captain Cristian Romero, whose strong performances – although undermined a little by yet another sending-off, this time against Liverpool – has been the nearest thing that the team have had to leadership this season.
Prior to their goalless draw against Palace, Aston Villa’s man in form had been Ollie Watkins, with four goals in his previous three matches, a figure all the more impressive considering that two of those matches came against Chelsea and Arsenal. If Watkins can maintain this sort of form, his passage into the England squad for this summer’s World Cup starts to look considerably smoother.
Expect changes from both Frank and Emery from their midweek Premier League XIs
There are no fresh injury concerns for Spurs ahead of this match, although there are no players due to return, either. James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski all remain injured, while Destiny Udogie and Pape Sarr remain on AFCON duty. Brennan Johnson, meanwhile, has left the building for Crystal Palace.
Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are both confirmed as sidelined for Aston Villa, while Evan Guessand is AFCON duty. Villa could welcome back Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings from injury, though they’ll be subject to fitness tests.
Of course, with this being an FA Cup match, there’s a strong possibility that both Thomas Frank and Unai Emery will make substantial changes from the teams that played in their midweek Premier League matches.
Thomas Frank might be about to find out how much the FA Cup means to Spurs fans
This is a match which should mean something to both clubs. The 1996 League Cup remains Aston Villa’s last major trophy, and for all the progress they’ve made under Emery, winning some actual silverware would be the club’s next step up in terms of their growth.
Villa have a proud history in the FA Cup, having won it seven times. But the last of those wins came almost 70 years ago, in 1957. Winning it this year would also be a tangible milestone of their recent revival.
Thomas Frank would do well to pay close attention to how much winning the Europa League meant to Spurs fans last year. With eight wins, the FA Cup means a lot to this club too, and with unhappiness growing at his team’s shortcomings, he’d be fooling himself if he considers this a free swing and nothing else. A groundswell against him is growing, and he’s rapidly running out of runway.
But none of this really impacts upon what’s likely to happen on the pitch. The simple fact is that Aston Villa have a better team than Spurs at the moment and that, even allowing for a marginally improved performance at Bournemouth and the likelihood of substantial team changes from both managers, it’s difficult to see Spurs turning up for this match with their deficiencies resolved and ready to take on and beat a stronger team.
So I’m going for a 2-0 Aston Villa win, and for there to be little let-up of the current levels of grumpiness currently circling around N17.
(Cover image from IMAGO)