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At the time Chelsea were looking for a successor for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, a number of managers were in contention. It was an thorough process that saw the club engaging with Thomas Frank before they ultimately chose Enzo Maresca.

The belief was that Maresca’s positional game and priority on possession made him the ideal candidate for Chelsea’s team of skilled players. Frank, who had excelled at Brentford, had to wait for his big break. Passed over by Manchester United after they parted ways with Erik ten Hag, his opportunity arrived when Tottenham brought in the Danish manager after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Currently, Frank and Maresca face each other, both holding prestigious roles. Their relationship is not currently a full-fledged rivalry, but they had some tight encounters last season. Frank’s Brentford were unfortunate to suffer a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last December and had the superior chances when they tied 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two decent games, made more fascinating by the contrasting styles between the managers. Frank is considered a practical manager, more likely to be straightforward, play on the break, and wait for chances to deploy an range of deadly set-piece routines, whereas Maresca veers towards ideological rigidity. The Italian is a product of the Pep Guardiola school; he values control of the ball.

Chelsea’s possession average of 59.7% so far this campaign is bettered only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank varies his approach more. Spurs are not instinctively a defensively-minded side – they are seventh in the possession standings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is telling that their best displays have come in games where they have surrendered the control. They were outstanding with a five-man defense in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, executed an impressive pressing game when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and dominated Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those performances indicate Spurs might sit back when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, it must be noted, have only one victory from their last seven home league games. The statistics are disappointing. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their last 18 home matches is the worst of any team to have been in the top flight throughout that timeframe.

This is a difficult game to predict. Spurs are five points off first place and unbeaten in the Champions League. Chelsea are Club World Cup winners and reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this week. Nevertheless, fans of both sides remain unconvinced about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have grumbled about a lack of creativity when the responsibility is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s complain about their young side’s inexperience, indiscipline, and struggles against defensive setups.

The reality is that both managers are doing fine. Chelsea could fall to 12th if they lose to Spurs, but there is mitigating circumstances to their indifferent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have had an impact. A interrupted pre-season, resulting from the club reaching the final at the Club World Cup, cannot be dismissed.

Still, there is room for development, especially when it comes to maintaining 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s ludicrous red card during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup victory against Wolves was Chelsea’s sixth such red card in nine games, including Maresca’s banishment from the technical area during the win over Liverpool.

Maresca was displeased with Delap, who is banned for the fixture to Spurs. But he is also pondering how to make his team more incisive against low blocks. The goals have dried up for João Pedro, and more reliability is needed from Chelsea’s young wingers.

Irritation built during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their maximum of the season, but their expected goals was 0.97. Sunderland’s switch to a five-man defense flummoxed Maresca. Régis Le Bris had prepared well. Numbers revealing that it is only one victory from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its maximum this season indicates that their core identity is being used against them and used to their disadvantage.

This is not a new issue. It was no wins from the four league games in which Chelsea had their highest possession stats last season, underscoring a weakness when Maresca’s drive for control is taken to the limit. The threat is slipping into unproductive possession, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s term. José Mourinho’s line about the team with the ball having the fear also applies here.

Maresca contests this view, but it is worth remembering that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they delivered their finest performance under the Italian and routed PSG in the Club World Cup final. Flexibility is a advantage. Chelsea have plenty of fast attackers and are exciting when they have space to attack.

Will Frank allow them opportunity? Chelsea took advantage of Postecoglou’s adventurous tactics on their last two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will undoubtedly be smarter. Is a switch to a back five likely? Chelsea have allowed goals from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso chucking balls into the box. They will observe that Chelsea have gotten better at attacking set pieces but are allowing too many chances.

Being so long-ball oriented does not necessarily match Spurs’ style. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski missing, there is a significant creative responsibility on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, courted by Chelsea last summer, has not made an impact since joining RB Leipzig. Spurs are predictable in general play. Their forwards remain unreliable.

But this is one game where the outcome may excuse the means. Spurs fans will not complain if a pragmatic approach breaks a four-game sequence of defeats against Chelsea. Victory would boost Frank’s tenure. How he would cherish to win this battle with Maresca.