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At the time Chelsea were seeking for a successor for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, a number of managers were considered. It was an comprehensive process that saw the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they eventually chose Enzo Maresca.

The belief was that Maresca’s positional game and focus on possession made him the most suitable for Chelsea’s team of talented individuals. Frank, who had excelled 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 hired the Danish manager after replacing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Now, Frank and Maresca meet, both in high-profile roles. Their relationship is not yet a full-blown rivalry, but they experienced some hard-fought duels last season. Frank’s Brentford were unlucky to suffer a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last December and created the better 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 considered a pragmatist, more inclined to be straightforward, play on the break, and wait for opportunities to execute an range of deadly set-piece plays, whereas Maresca leans towards ideological rigidity. The Italian comes from the Pep Guardiola school; he values dominance of the ball.

Chelsea’s possession average of 59.7% this season is exceeded only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank mixes it up more. Spurs are not inherently a defensive side – they are ranked seventh in the possession table, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is notable that their best performances have come in games where they have ceded the initiative. They were outstanding with a five-man defense in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, executed an outstanding counterpress when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and overwhelmed Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those performances point to Spurs ought to play on the counter when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, after all, have only one victory from their past 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 period.

This is a difficult game to predict. Spurs are five points off the summit and undefeated 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 responsibility is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s moan about their young side’s inexperience, lack of discipline, and struggles against low blocks.

The reality is that both managers are managing reasonably well. Chelsea could slip to 12th if they lose to Spurs, but there is background 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 overlooked.

However, there is potential for development, especially when it comes to maintaining 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s rash 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 angry with Delap, who is suspended for the visit to Spurs. But he is also pondering how to make his team more penetrative against low blocks. The goals have decreased for João Pedro, and more reliability is necessary from Chelsea’s young wide players.

Frustration grew during last weekend’s 2-1 home loss by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their highest of the season, but their expected goals was 0.97. Sunderland’s switch to a back five confused Maresca. Régis Le Bris had studied his opponent. Statistics indicating that it is one win from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its highest this season implies that their fundamental philosophy is being weaponised and used to their disadvantage.

This is not a recent issue. It was zero victories from the four league games in which Chelsea had their most possession last season, highlighting a weakness when Maresca’s quest for control is taken to the limit. The danger is falling into sterile domination, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s term. José Mourinho’s comment about the team with the ball having the anxiety also is relevant.

Maresca disagrees, but it is worth noting 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. Adaptability is a positive attribute. Chelsea have several fast attackers and are exciting when they have space to attack.

Will Frank allow them space? Chelsea punished Postecoglou’s gung-ho tactics on their last two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will certainly be smarter. Is a shift to a back five possible? Chelsea have conceded from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso launching balls into the box. They will note that Chelsea have improved at offensive set pieces but are allowing too many chances.

Being so direct does not necessarily align with Spurs’ traditions. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski absent, there is a considerable creative load on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, pursued by Chelsea last summer, has not performed to expectations since arriving from RB Leipzig. Spurs are one-dimensional in general play. Their forwards remain inconsistent.

But this is one game where the result may justify the means. Spurs fans will not complain if a pragmatic approach ends a four-game winless streak against Chelsea. Victory would boost Frank’s reign. How he would love to win this battle with Maresca.