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At the time Chelsea were searching for a successor for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, several managers were evaluated. It was an thorough process that saw the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they ultimately selected Enzo Maresca.

The opinion was that Maresca’s structured approach and priority on possession made him the most suitable for Chelsea’s squad of skilled players. Frank, who had performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to wait for his next chance. Not chosen by Manchester United after they let go of Erik ten Hag, his moment came when Tottenham hired the Danish manager after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

At present, Frank and Maresca face each other, both occupying prestigious roles. Theirs is not currently a full-blown rivalry, but they experienced some close matches last season. Frank’s Brentford were unfortunate to endure a 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge last December and had the superior chances when they drew 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two competitive games, made more fascinating by the divergent approaches between the coaches. Frank is considered a pragmatist, more inclined to be direct, play on the break, and wait for opportunities to unveil an array of effective set-piece plays, whereas Maresca veers towards dogmatism. The Italian hails from the Pep Guardiola coaching tree; he prizes dominance of the ball.

Chelsea’s average of 59.7% this season is exceeded only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank mixes it up more. Spurs are not instinctively a defensive side – they are ranked seventh in the possession rankings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is telling that their most impressive showings have come in games where they have relinquished the initiative. They were outstanding with a back five in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, implemented an impressive counterpress when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and overwhelmed Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those performances point to Spurs might play on the counter when they host Chelsea. Tottenham, after all, have one win from their past seven home league games. The figures are awful. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their past 18 home outings is the lowest 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 the summit and undefeated in the Champions League. Chelsea are Club World Cup winners and reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this week. However, fans of both sides remain skeptical about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have complained about a lack of creativity when the pressure is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s complain about their young side’s inexperience, indiscipline, and difficulties against defensive setups.

The truth is that both managers are doing fine. Chelsea could drop to 12th if they lose to Spurs, but there is mitigating circumstances to their indifferent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have been costly. A disrupted pre-season, resulting from the club competing deep at the Club World Cup, cannot be overlooked.

Still, there is scope for improvement, especially when it comes to keeping 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s rash red card during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win against Wolves was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games, including Maresca’s removal from the touchline during the win over Liverpool.

Maresca was displeased with Delap, who is suspended for the fixture to Spurs. But he is also pondering how to make his team more penetrative against low blocks. The goals have decreased for João Pedro, and more reliability is necessary from Chelsea’s young wide players.

Irritation mounted during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their peak of the campaign, but their xG was 0.97. Sunderland’s change to a five-man defense baffled Maresca. Régis Le Bris had prepared well. Statistics indicating that it is one win from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its maximum this season suggests that their key approach is being used against them and used to their disadvantage.

This is not a new issue. It was zero victories from the four league games in which Chelsea had their most possession last season, emphasizing a flaw when Maresca’s quest for control is taken to the limit. The risk is slipping into unproductive possession, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s term. José Mourinho’s comment about the team with the ball having the worry also is relevant.

Maresca disagrees, but it is worth recalling that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they produced their most impressive performance under the Italian and routed PSG in the Club World Cup final. Flexibility is a strength. Chelsea have several fast attackers and are exciting when they have room to attack.

Will Frank grant them space? Chelsea punished Postecoglou’s adventurous tactics on their last two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will certainly be more cautious. Is a change to a back five possible? Chelsea have allowed goals from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso throwing balls into the box. They will note that Chelsea have gotten better at attacking set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so long-ball oriented does not necessarily align with Spurs’ style. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski unavailable, there is a considerable creative load on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, pursued by Chelsea last summer, has not performed to expectations since joining RB Leipzig. Spurs are lacking variety in open play. Their forwards remain erratic.

But this is one game where the ends may excuse the method. Spurs fans will not complain if a cautious approach ends a four-game losing run against Chelsea. Success would ignite Frank’s reign. How he would cherish to win this battle with Maresca.