Enzo Maresca stat should terrify Chelsea board and put Tottenham chiefs on red alert

had in the title picture during the early weeks of this season - but his stock has fallen dramatically since. His Blues side needed a miraculous second-half comeback to scrape a point against Championship-bound on Sunday, making it just five wins in their last 16 league games.

If Chelsea's concerning form persists until the end of the season, the Chelsea board will have a tricky decision to make. , and have all tried their luck under the and Clearlake Capital ownership regime without managing to secure their position in the dugout. Maresca must also feel that he is in danger if he cannot wrap up qualification for next campaign.

The Chelsea board will not need a deep dive to figure out that the team's fortunes have nosedived since the Maresca honeymoon period concluded. And one little-known statistic is even more damning for the Blues boss.

Of all the Premier League managers Maresca has faced twice or more this season, he has failed to win the second meeting in all bar one case. That is to say, the vast majority of managers in England's top flight have figured out a winning recipe from their first meeting with Maresca, and successfully implemented it in the second game.

It also suggests that Maresca has failed to learn lessons from his first clashes with rival bosses, and weaponise them the next time they meet.

That will naturally be a concern for the Chelsea board who, like every other club, want a manager who can come up with innovative ways to keep on winning. Maresca's record will also give Tottenham bosses a scare.

Because the only Premier League manager the Italian has beaten in his second head-to-head this season is Ange Postecoglou. Spurs boss Postecoglou has made it clear that he does not like to alter the team tactically based on the opponent.

And that may ultimately be why he oversaw a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, which came after a 4-3 loss at home to the Blues in December. Postecoglou's future has been called into question as Tottenham splutter to the end of a miserable season.

Spurs were beaten 4-2 at Wolves on Sunday, and they need a big result against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday to avoid dropping out of the Europa League. It remains to be seen whether Maresca and Postecoglou are still in a job by the start of next term.