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At the time Chelsea were seeking for a successor for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024, several managers were evaluated. It was an thorough process that involved the club holding talks with Thomas Frank before they finally chose Enzo Maresca.

The feeling was that Maresca’s tactical system and focus on possession made him the most suitable for Chelsea’s team of technicians. Frank, who had performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to wait for his next chance. Overlooked by Manchester United after they parted ways with Erik ten Hag, his moment came when Tottenham appointed the Danish manager after firing Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Currently, Frank and Maresca face each other, both in prestigious roles. Theirs is not yet a full-fledged rivalry, but they experienced some close encounters last season. Frank’s Brentford were unfortunate to suffer a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last December and created the better chances when they tied 0-0 with Chelsea in April.

Those were two competitive games, made more fascinating by the divergent approaches between the coaches. Frank is more of a pragmatist, more inclined to be direct, play on the counter-attack, and wait for chances to unveil an range of deadly set-piece strategies, whereas Maresca veers towards dogmatism. The Italian hails from the Pep Guardiola philosophy; he values control of the ball.

Chelsea’s average of 59.7% so far this campaign is bettered only by Liverpool in the Premier League. Frank varies his approach more. Spurs are not instinctively a defensively-minded 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 relinquished the possession. They were superb with a defensive setup 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 point to Spurs ought to sit back when they host Chelsea. Tottenham, after all, have one win from their last seven home league games. The statistics are concerning. Spurs’ record of 13 points from their past 18 home outings is the lowest of any team to have been in the top flight throughout that timeframe.

This is a tricky game to call. Spurs are five points off first place and unbeaten in the Champions League. Chelsea are world champions and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this week. Yet, fans of both sides remain skeptical about Frank and Maresca. Spurs supporters have grumbled about a shortage of creativity when the onus is on their team to attack; Chelsea’s lament about their young side’s inexperience, lack of discipline, and difficulties against defensive setups.

The reality is that both managers are performing adequately. Chelsea could drop to 12th if they are defeated to Spurs, but there is background to their inconsistent results. Injuries to Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have had an impact. A disrupted pre-season, resulting from the club reaching the final at the Club World Cup, cannot be overlooked.

Still, there is room for progress, especially when it comes to keeping 11 players on the pitch. Liam Delap’s unnecessary dismissal 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 trip to Spurs. But he is also considering how to make his team more incisive against low blocks. The goals have slowed down for João Pedro, and more reliability is required from Chelsea’s young attacking midfielders.

Disappointment mounted during last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland. Chelsea had 68.4% possession, their peak of the season, but their expected goals was 0.97. Sunderland’s adjustment to a back five confused Maresca. Régis Le Bris had done his homework. Statistics revealing that it is only one victory from the six league games when Chelsea’s possession has been at its maximum this season indicates that their core identity is being used against them and turned on them.

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, emphasizing a weakness when Maresca’s quest for control is taken to extremes. The risk is falling into unproductive possession, to borrow Arsène Wenger’s expression. José Mourinho’s line about the team with the ball having the anxiety also applies here.

Maresca disagrees, but it is worth noting that Chelsea had 33.5% possession when they put in their most impressive performance under the Italian and routed PSG in the Club World Cup final. Flexibility is a positive attribute. Chelsea have a number of fast attackers and are exciting when they have room to attack.

Will Frank give them freedom? Chelsea exploited Postecoglou’s attacking tactics on their last two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will undoubtedly be more cautious. Is a shift to a five-man defense possible? 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 offensive set pieces but are conceding too many chances.

Being so long-ball oriented does not necessarily match Spurs’ style. But with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski unavailable, there is a heavy creative burden on Mohammed Kudus. Xavi Simons, targeted by Chelsea last summer, has not done enough since arriving from RB Leipzig. Spurs are one-dimensional in open play. Their forwards remain unreliable.

But this is one game where the ends may justify the approach. Spurs fans will not object if a cautious approach ends a four-game losing run against Chelsea. A win would energize Frank’s tenure. How he would relish to win this battle with Maresca.