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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. It was an extensive process that involved the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they eventually selected Enzo Maresca.

The belief was that Maresca’s structured approach and priority on possession made him the most suitable for Chelsea’s roster of talented individuals. Frank, who had achieved great success at Brentford, had to bide his time for his next opportunity. Overlooked by Manchester United after they let go of Erik ten Hag, his break arrived when Tottenham appointed the Danish manager after replacing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Now, Frank and Maresca meet, both in major roles. Their relationship is not currently a established rivalry, but they had some tight encounters last season. Frank’s Brentford were unlucky to endure 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 contrasting styles between the tacticians. Frank is more of a practical manager, more likely to be straightforward, play on the counter-attack, and wait for opportunities to execute an variety of effective set-piece strategies, whereas Maresca veers towards a strict philosophy. The Italian is a product of the Pep Guardiola philosophy; he prizes control of the ball.

Chelsea’s average of 59.7% so far this campaign is topped only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank mixes it up more. Spurs are not instinctively a defensively-minded side – they are seventh in the possession rankings, ahead of Manchester United and Newcastle – but it is significant that their most impressive displays have come in games where they have relinquished the initiative. They were outstanding with a defensive setup in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, executed an impressive counterpress when they won 2-0 at Manchester City, and destroyed Everton with set pieces last Sunday.

Those results point to Spurs ought to play on the counter when they welcome Chelsea. Tottenham, it must be noted, have only one victory from their past seven home league games. The statistics are disappointing. Spurs’ return of 13 points from their last 18 home fixtures is the poorest of any team to have been in the top flight throughout 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 advanced to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this week. However, 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 moan about their young side’s inexperience, indiscipline, and difficulties against defensive setups.

The situation 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 interrupted pre-season, resulting from the club competing deep at the Club World Cup, cannot be ignored.

Yet, there is room for improvement, especially when it comes to maintaining 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s unnecessary 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 angry with Delap, who is banned for the fixture to Spurs. But he is also pondering how to make his team more incisive against defensive teams. The goals have dried up for João Pedro, and more consistency is required from Chelsea’s young wide players.

Irritation built 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 adjustment to a back five flummoxed Maresca. Régis Le Bris had studied his opponent. Numbers indicating that it is one win 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 turned on them.

This is not a new issue. It was zero victories from the four league games in which Chelsea had their most possession last season, highlighting a vulnerability when Maresca’s quest for control is taken to extremes. The threat is slipping into unproductive possession, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s phrase. José Mourinho’s comment about the team with the ball having the fear also applies here.

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

Will Frank allow them space? Chelsea punished Postecoglou’s gung-ho tactics on their past two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will certainly be more cautious. Is a shift to a back five likely? 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 improved at offensive set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so straightforward does not necessarily match Spurs’ traditions. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski unavailable, there is a significant creative responsibility on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, pursued by Chelsea last summer, has not done enough since joining RB Leipzig. Spurs are one-dimensional in from open situations. Their forwards remain inconsistent.

But this is one game where the ends may justify the method. Spurs fans will not complain if a pragmatic approach ends a four-game sequence of defeats against Chelsea. Success would energize Frank’s time in charge. How he would cherish to win this duel with Maresca.