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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 involved the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they ultimately selected Enzo Maresca.

The belief was that Maresca’s tactical system and focus on possession made him the best fit for Chelsea’s squad of skilled players. Frank, who had performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to wait for his next opportunity. Overlooked by Manchester United after they dismissed Erik ten Hag, his break came when Tottenham appointed the Danish manager after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Currently, Frank and Maresca confront one another, both holding major roles. Theirs is not yet a full-blown rivalry, but they experienced some hard-fought encounters last season. Frank’s Brentford were unlucky 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 interesting by the contrasting styles between the coaches. Frank is considered a practical manager, more likely to be straightforward, play on the counter-attack, and wait for opportunities to unveil an array of deadly set-piece routines, whereas Maresca veers towards dogmatism. The Italian comes from the Pep Guardiola philosophy; he values control of the ball.

Chelsea’s 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 defensive side – they are ranked seventh in the possession table, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is significant that their strongest 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 exceptional pressing game when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and destroyed Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those performances suggest Spurs should adopt a defensive approach when they face Chelsea. Tottenham, after all, have only one victory from their last seven home league games. The numbers are disappointing. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their past 18 home outings is the lowest of any team to have been in the top flight during that period.

This is a hard game to call. Spurs are five points off the top and unbeaten in the Champions League. Chelsea are Club World Cup winners and reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this week. Yet, fans of both sides remain doubtful about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have grumbled about a shortage of creativity when the pressure is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s complain about their young side’s immaturity, lack of discipline, and struggles against defensive setups.

The situation is that both managers are managing reasonably well. Chelsea could slip to 12th if they are defeated to Spurs, but there is context to their indifferent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have been costly. A disrupted pre-season, due to the club going all the way at the Club World Cup, cannot be ignored.

However, there is potential for improvement, especially when it comes to maintaining 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s ludicrous red card during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup success 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 displeased with Delap, who is banned for the fixture to Spurs. But he is also thinking about how to make his team more effective against low blocks. The goals have dried up for João Pedro, and more reliability is necessary from Chelsea’s young attacking midfielders.

Irritation mounted during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their maximum of the campaign, but their expected goals was 0.97. Sunderland’s adjustment to a five-man defense confused Maresca. Régis Le Bris had done his homework. Statistics showing that it is only one victory from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its peak this season suggests that their core identity is being exploited 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, highlighting a vulnerability when Maresca’s pursuit for control is taken to extremes. The threat is drifting into ineffective control, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s expression. José Mourinho’s line about the team with the ball having the fear also applies here.

Maresca disagrees, 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. Adaptability is a strength. Chelsea have plenty of fast attackers and are dynamic when they have room to attack.

Will Frank give them opportunity? Chelsea took advantage of Postecoglou’s gung-ho tactics on their last two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will undoubtedly be more strategic. Is a shift to a five-man defense possible? Chelsea have allowed goals from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso throwing balls into the box. They will take into account that Chelsea have improved at attacking set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so straightforward does not necessarily match Spurs’ history. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski missing, there is a significant creative load on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, pursued by Chelsea last summer, has not made an impact since arriving from RB Leipzig. Spurs are lacking variety in from open situations. Their forwards remain inconsistent.

But this is one game where the outcome may justify the method. Spurs fans will not complain if a pragmatic approach ends a four-game losing run against Chelsea. Victory would energize Frank’s tenure. How he would cherish to win this contest with Maresca.