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At the time Chelsea were looking for a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, a number of managers were in contention. This was an comprehensive process that saw the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they ultimately selected Enzo Maresca.

The belief was that Maresca’s positional game and priority on possession made him the ideal candidate for Chelsea’s squad of talented individuals. Frank, who had performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to wait for his next opportunity. Passed over by Manchester United after they let go of Erik ten Hag, his opportunity came when Tottenham appointed the Danish manager after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Currently, Frank and Maresca face each other, both occupying high-profile roles. Theirs is not yet a full-fledged rivalry, but they experienced some hard-fought matches last season. Frank’s Brentford were unlucky to suffer a 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge last December and had the better chances when they tied 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two competitive games, made more interesting by the divergent approaches between the tacticians. Frank is more of a practical manager, more likely to be direct, play on the break, and wait for chances to unveil an array of clinical set-piece plays, whereas Maresca tends towards ideological rigidity. The Italian hails from the Pep Guardiola school; he emphasizes control 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 naturally a defensively-minded side – they are ranked seventh in the possession table, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is significant that their best showings 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 exceptional pressing game when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and overwhelmed Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those performances suggest Spurs should adopt a defensive approach when they face Chelsea. Tottenham, it must be noted, have one win from their past seven home league games. The statistics are awful. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their last 18 home outings is the worst of any team to have been in the top flight during that timeframe.

This is a difficult game to call. Spurs are five points off the top and undefeated in the Champions League. Chelsea are Club World Cup winners and advanced to the last eight of the Carabao Cup this week. Nevertheless, fans of both sides remain doubtful about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have grumbled about a shortage of creativity when the responsibility is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s moan about their young side’s immaturity, lack of discipline, and difficulties against low blocks.

The truth is that both managers are performing adequately. Chelsea could drop to 12th if they are defeated to Spurs, but there is mitigating circumstances to their inconsistent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have had an impact. A disrupted pre-season, due to the club reaching the final at the Club World Cup, cannot be dismissed.

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

Maresca was furious with Delap, who is suspended for the fixture to Spurs. But he is also considering how to make his team more effective against defensive teams. The goals have dried up for João Pedro, and more consistency is required from Chelsea’s young attacking midfielders.

Irritation mounted during last weekend’s 2-1 home loss by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their peak of the season, but their xG was 0.97. Sunderland’s adjustment to a five-man defense flummoxed 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 implies that their key approach is being exploited and turned on them.

This is not a new issue. It was no wins from the four league games in which Chelsea had their most possession last season, emphasizing a flaw when Maresca’s drive for control is taken to extremes. The risk is slipping into unproductive possession, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s expression. José Mourinho’s comment about the team with the ball having the fear also applies here.

Maresca disagrees, but it is worth remembering that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they produced their most impressive performance under the Italian and decisively beat PSG in the Club World Cup final. Flexibility is a positive attribute. Chelsea have plenty of fast attackers and are pulsating when they have space to attack.

Will Frank give them space? Chelsea took advantage of Postecoglou’s gung-ho tactics on their past two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will undoubtedly be more cautious. Is a switch to a five-man defense possible? 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 improved at offensive set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so straightforward does not necessarily align with Spurs’ style. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski missing, there is a heavy creative burden on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, targeted by Chelsea last summer, has not made an impact since joining RB Leipzig. Spurs are lacking variety in from open situations. Their forwards remain unreliable.

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