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At the time Chelsea were seeking for a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, multiple managers were in contention. This was an comprehensive process that saw the club engaging with Thomas Frank before they ultimately chose Enzo Maresca.

The opinion 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 performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to remain patient for his next opportunity. Passed over by Manchester United after they dismissed Erik ten Hag, his opportunity arrived when Tottenham brought in the Dane after replacing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

At present, Frank and Maresca face each other, both in major roles. Theirs is not currently a full-blown rivalry, but they experienced some tight duels last season. Frank’s Brentford were unlucky to suffer a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last December and had the superior chances when they drew 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two decent games, made more fascinating by the divergent approaches between the managers. Frank is more of a pragmatist, more likely to be direct, play on the break, and wait for chances to execute an array of effective set-piece plays, whereas Maresca veers towards dogmatism. The Italian hails from the Pep Guardiola school; he emphasizes dominance of the ball.

Chelsea’s possession average of 59.7% this season is exceeded only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank varies his approach more. Spurs are not inherently a defensive side – they are seventh in the possession rankings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is notable that their strongest displays have come in games where they have relinquished the control. They were outstanding with a back five in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, executed an outstanding counterpress when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and dominated Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those results indicate Spurs might adopt a defensive approach when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, after all, have only one victory from their last seven home league games. The figures are awful. Spurs’ record of 13 points from their last 18 home outings is the poorest of any team to have been in the top flight throughout that timeframe.

This is a hard game to read. Spurs are five points off the summit and unbeaten 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 unconvinced about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have grumbled about a lack of creativity when the onus is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s moan about their young side’s inexperience, indiscipline, and struggles against low blocks.

The situation is that both managers are doing fine. Chelsea could fall to 12th if they are defeated to Spurs, but there is context to their indifferent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have had an impact. A interrupted pre-season, due to the club competing deep at the Club World Cup, cannot be dismissed.

Yet, there is scope for progress, especially when it comes to maintaining 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s rash red card during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup success against Wolves was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games, including Maresca’s dismissal from the dugout during the win over Liverpool.

Maresca was angry with Delap, who is suspended for the trip to Spurs. But he is also pondering how to make his team more penetrative against defensive teams. The goals have decreased for João Pedro, and more steadiness is needed from Chelsea’s young wingers.

Irritation mounted during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their highest of the season, but their xG was 0.97. Sunderland’s adjustment to a back five confused Maresca. Régis Le Bris had studied his opponent. Statistics showing that it is only one victory from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its highest this season suggests that their key approach is being used against them and turned on them.

This is not a recent issue. It was zero victories from the four league games in which Chelsea had their highest possession stats last season, underscoring a weakness when Maresca’s quest for control is taken to extremes. The risk is slipping into unproductive possession, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s term. José Mourinho’s remark about the team with the ball having the anxiety also comes to mind.

Maresca differs in opinion, but it is worth noting that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they delivered their best performance under the Italian and thrashed PSG in the Club World Cup final. Flexibility is a strength. Chelsea have several fast attackers and are exciting when they have space to attack.

Will Frank give them space? Chelsea punished Postecoglou’s gung-ho tactics on their past two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will certainly be smarter. Is a change to a back five likely? 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 offensive set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so direct does not necessarily align with Spurs’ history. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski absent, there is a heavy creative responsibility on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, targeted by Chelsea last summer, has not done enough since arriving from RB Leipzig. Spurs are one-dimensional in from open situations. Their forwards remain unreliable.

But this is one game where the result may validate the approach. Spurs fans will not object if a pragmatic approach breaks a four-game winless streak against Chelsea. A win would ignite Frank’s time in charge. How he would love to win this contest with Maresca.