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At the time Chelsea were seeking for a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, several managers were considered. It was an comprehensive process that saw the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they ultimately opted for Enzo Maresca.

The opinion was that Maresca’s structured approach and focus on possession made him the best fit for Chelsea’s roster of skilled players. Frank, who had excelled at Brentford, had to bide his time for his big break. Passed over by Manchester United after they dismissed Erik ten Hag, his opportunity arrived when Tottenham appointed the Danish manager after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

At present, Frank and Maresca confront one another, both occupying major roles. Their relationship is not currently a full-blown rivalry, but they had some tight encounters last season. Frank’s Brentford were unfortunate to suffer a 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge last December and created the superior chances when they tied 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two decent games, made more interesting by the divergent approaches between the tacticians. Frank is more of a practical manager, more inclined to be straightforward, play on the break, and wait for opportunities to deploy an range of effective set-piece strategies, whereas Maresca leans towards ideological rigidity. The Italian comes from the Pep Guardiola coaching tree; he emphasizes dominance of the ball.

Chelsea’s average of 59.7% so far this campaign is exceeded only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank adapts his tactics more. Spurs are not naturally a defensively-minded side – they are seventh in the possession standings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is telling that their strongest displays have come in games where they have surrendered the control. They were outstanding with a back five in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, implemented an outstanding pressing game when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and dominated Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those experiences suggest Spurs ought to adopt a defensive approach when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, it must be noted, have one win from their past seven home league games. The figures are awful. Spurs’ record of 13 points from their past 18 home matches is the poorest of any team to have been in the top flight during that period.

This is a tricky game to call. Spurs are five points off the top and undefeated in the Champions League. Chelsea are Club World Cup winners and reached the last eight of the Carabao Cup this week. However, fans of both sides remain unconvinced 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 toils against low blocks.

The situation is that both managers are performing adequately. Chelsea could fall to 12th if they are defeated to Spurs, but there is background to their indifferent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have been costly. A disrupted pre-season, caused by the club competing deep at the Club World Cup, cannot be dismissed.

However, there is room for development, especially when it comes to maintaining 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s rash dismissal during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win against Wolves was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games, including Maresca’s banishment from the technical area during the win over Liverpool.

Maresca was furious with Delap, who is banned for the fixture to Spurs. But he is also thinking about how to make his team more penetrative against low blocks. The goals have decreased for João Pedro, and more reliability is needed from Chelsea’s young wide players.

Frustration 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 switch to a back five confused Maresca. Régis Le Bris had studied his opponent. Numbers showing that it is one win from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its peak this season implies that their core identity 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 highest possession stats last season, underscoring a vulnerability when Maresca’s quest for control is taken to the limit. The risk is drifting into ineffective control, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s phrase. José Mourinho’s remark about the team with the ball having the fear also is relevant.

Maresca contests this view, but it is worth noting that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they produced their finest performance under the Italian and thrashed PSG in the Club World Cup final. Adaptability is a advantage. Chelsea have plenty of fast attackers and are pulsating when they have space to attack.

Will Frank grant them freedom? Chelsea exploited Postecoglou’s attacking tactics on their past two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will certainly be smarter. Is a switch to a five-man defense likely? Chelsea have conceded from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso chucking balls into the box. They will observe that Chelsea have gotten better at attacking set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so direct does not necessarily align with Spurs’ style. 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 performed to expectations since arriving from RB Leipzig. Spurs are lacking variety in general play. Their forwards remain erratic.

But this is one game where the outcome may excuse the approach. Spurs fans will not complain if a cautious approach halts a four-game losing run against Chelsea. A win would boost Frank’s time in charge. How he would relish to win this battle with Maresca.