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When Chelsea were seeking for a successor for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, a number of managers were considered. This was an thorough process that involved the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they eventually chose Enzo Maresca.

The opinion was that Maresca’s tactical system and focus on possession made him the most suitable for Chelsea’s team of technicians. Frank, who had excelled at Brentford, had to bide his time for his next opportunity. Overlooked by Manchester United after they parted ways with Erik ten Hag, his break arrived when Tottenham brought in the Dane after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

At present, Frank and Maresca face each other, both in prestigious roles. Theirs is not yet a full-fledged rivalry, but they experienced some close matches last season. Frank’s Brentford were unlucky to suffer a 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge last December and created the more clear-cut chances when they drew 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two engaging games, made more fascinating by the divergent approaches between the coaches. Frank is considered a adaptable coach, more likely to be direct, play on the counter-attack, and wait for opportunities to unveil an range of clinical set-piece strategies, whereas Maresca leans towards ideological rigidity. The Italian comes from the Pep Guardiola philosophy; he values dominance 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 inherently a defensively-minded side – they are seventh in the possession rankings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is notable that their most impressive showings have come in games where they have relinquished the possession. They were superb with a five-man defense in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, implemented an outstanding counterpress when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and dominated Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those performances indicate Spurs should adopt a defensive approach when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, it must be noted, have only one victory from their past seven home league games. The statistics are awful. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their past 18 home fixtures is the poorest of any team to have been in the top flight during that period.

This is a tricky game to read. Spurs are five points off the summit and unbeaten in the Champions League. Chelsea are world champions and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this week. Nevertheless, fans of both sides remain unconvinced about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have expressed frustration about a shortage of creativity when the responsibility is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s lament about their young side’s immaturity, indiscipline, and toils against low blocks.

The truth is that both managers are managing reasonably well. Chelsea could fall to 12th if they lose to Spurs, but there is background to their mixed results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have had an impact. A disrupted pre-season, due to the club going all the way at the Club World Cup, cannot be dismissed.

Yet, there is scope for progress, especially when it comes to keeping 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s ludicrous sending off during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup victory against Wolves was Chelsea’s sixth such red card in nine games, including Maresca’s dismissal 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 pondering how to make his team more effective against defensive teams. The goals have dried up for João Pedro, and more reliability is needed from Chelsea’s young wingers.

Irritation grew during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their highest of the season, but their expected goals was 0.97. Sunderland’s change to a five-man defense flummoxed Maresca. Régis Le Bris had done his homework. Statistics indicating that it is one win from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its peak this season indicates that their core identity is being exploited 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 highest possession stats last season, highlighting a weakness when Maresca’s pursuit for control is taken to extremes. The danger is drifting into ineffective control, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s expression. 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 remembering that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they delivered their most impressive performance under the Italian and decisively beat PSG in the Club World Cup final. Variety is a advantage. Chelsea have several fast attackers and are pulsating when they have space to attack.

Will Frank allow them space? Chelsea took advantage of Postecoglou’s attacking tactics on their past two visits 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 observe that Chelsea have improved at attacking set pieces but are allowing too many chances.

Being so long-ball oriented does not necessarily fit with Spurs’ traditions. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski unavailable, there is a heavy creative burden on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, pursued by Chelsea last summer, has not made an impact since joining RB Leipzig. Spurs are one-dimensional in from open situations. Their forwards remain erratic.

But this is one game where the result may validate the approach. Spurs fans will not complain if a defensive approach breaks a four-game sequence of defeats against Chelsea. Success would ignite Frank’s reign. How he would cherish to win this contest with Maresca.