Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is an admirer of the attacking brand of football that took Tony Mowbray's Sunderland all the way to the Championship play-offs. Highly-respected Spanish coach Emery has made a huge impact since taking over at Villa Park in October, transforming the club from a side that looked destined for a relegation battle into one that could clinch a Europa Conference League place if they beat Brighton in Sunday's final round of Premier League fixtures.
In the build-up to that game, Emery praised the football that Brighton have played under their Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, but also named other clubs that play a similar style - namechecking the Black Cats in the process. Mowbray's team has been lauded all season by fans and pundits alike for the way they have set about the Championship, stepping straight out of League One and finishing sixth in the second tier before bowing out in the play-off semi-finals.
"There are a lot of coaches in the Premier League doing something different," said former Arsenal, Villereal, Paris St-Germain, and Sevilla, boss Emery. "There are a lot of other teams doing a lot of good work - in Spain there is a team FC Andorra who plays in a similar way to [Roberto] De Zerbi here, and it's not only teams in the Premier League.
