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When Chelsea were searching for a successor for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, multiple managers were considered. This was an comprehensive process that saw the club engaging with Thomas Frank before they eventually chose Enzo Maresca.

The opinion was that Maresca’s tactical system and priority on possession rendered him the best fit for Chelsea’s team of talented individuals. Frank, who had performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to remain patient for his next opportunity. Passed over by Manchester United after they parted ways with Erik ten Hag, his moment arrived when Tottenham appointed the Dane after replacing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

At present, Frank and Maresca face each other, both holding high-profile roles. Their relationship is not currently a established rivalry, but they had some hard-fought encounters last season. Frank’s Brentford were unfortunate to suffer a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last December and created the better chances when they tied 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two competitive games, made more fascinating by the divergent approaches between the tacticians. Frank is more of a practical manager, more likely to be direct, play on the counter-attack, and wait for chances to deploy an range of deadly set-piece plays, whereas Maresca leans towards ideological rigidity. The Italian hails from the Pep Guardiola coaching tree; he prizes dominance of the ball.

Chelsea’s average of 59.7% this season is bettered only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank adapts his tactics more. Spurs are not naturally a defensive side – they are ranked seventh in the possession rankings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is significant that their most impressive showings have come in games where they have surrendered the initiative. They were superb with a defensive setup 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 suggest Spurs ought to sit back when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, after all, have one win from their past seven home league games. The statistics are concerning. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their last 18 home matches is the worst of any team to have been in the top flight during that timeframe.

This is a hard game to call. Spurs are five points off the top and unbeaten in the Champions League. Chelsea are world champions and reached the last eight of the Carabao Cup this week. However, fans of both sides remain doubtful 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 immaturity, indiscipline, and toils against low blocks.

The truth is that both managers are doing fine. 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, resulting from the club competing deep at the Club World Cup, cannot be ignored.

Still, there is potential for development, especially when it comes to keeping 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s unnecessary sending off during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup success against Wolves was Chelsea’s sixth such red card in nine games, including Maresca’s dismissal 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 thinking about how to make his team more penetrative against defensive teams. The goals have decreased for João Pedro, and more reliability is necessary from Chelsea’s young wide players.

Disappointment built during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their highest of the campaign, but their expected goals was 0.97. Sunderland’s change to a five-man defense 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 indicates that their fundamental philosophy 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 most possession last season, emphasizing a weakness when Maresca’s pursuit for control is taken to the limit. The danger is falling into sterile domination, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s expression. José Mourinho’s remark about the team with the ball having the worry also comes to mind.

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

Will Frank grant them space? Chelsea took advantage of Postecoglou’s adventurous tactics on their past two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will surely be smarter. Is a shift to a back five on the cards? Chelsea have conceded from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso launching balls into the box. They will observe that Chelsea have gotten better at attacking set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

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

But this is one game where the result may excuse the means. Spurs fans will not complain if a defensive approach breaks a four-game losing run against Chelsea. A win would boost Frank’s reign. How he would love to win this contest with Maresca.