Talking Tactics: Battle at the Bridge as Potter and Gracia clash

Both Chelsea and Leeds have recruited new managers since the two met earlier in the season.

A 3-0 defeat at Elland Road last August contributed to Thomas Tuchel being replaced by Graham Potter the following month, while Javi Gracia took over from Jesse Marsch 11 days ago.

Potter's men desperately need to end a torrid run of two wins from 15 matches, while the Whites are still in a relegation dogfight despite a 1-0 victory over Southampton in Gracia's first game at the helm.

Ahead of Saturday's encounter at Stamford Bridge, we put the two bosses under the spotlight.

Differing dugouts

Potter, 47, is five years younger than his Spanish counterpart and is known for a very different tactical approach.

The ex-Swansea and Brighton coach favours an innovative possession-based style, while Gracia is focused on defensive organisation and counter-attacking.

Potter has three years of top-flight experience from his time with the Seagulls, guiding the South Coast outfit to a ninth-place finish last term.

Gracia, meanwhile, is a European veteran, having led the likes of Malaga and Valencia in his homeland, Russian outfit Rubin Kazan, Saudi side Al Sadd and a memorable 19-month spell at Watford.

In his only full season at Vicarage Road, the 52-year-old took the Hornets to an FA Cup final and mid-table finish — his wealth of expertise should not be overlooked.

Potters' Blues

Potter has not yet been able to get his footballing philosophy across to his players.

The Blues have lost three matches on the bounce without scoring and have tallied only 23 goals in 24 Premier League outings this season — their lowest at this stage of a campaign since 1993-94 (22).

Potter's side have dominated possession in all three of those defeats, to Borussia Dortmund, Southampton and Tottenham, but failed to find the net from any of their 15 shots on target.

Attacking reinforcements in the shape of Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk have all resulted in no immediate improvement to the end product, with Potter unable to find short-term fixes to a long-term issue.

Spanish solidity

Although they fell to a 2-0 FA Cup defeat at Fulham on Tuesday, Leeds gave their supporters reasons to be optimistic in their 1-0 home win over fellow relegation candidates Southampton.

They will bring that fighting spirit with them to Stamford Bridge, having made more tackles, won possession more often and managed more interceptions than Chelsea in their last two outings.

In the two matches that Gracia has been at the helm, his side have averaged 18.5 tackles per match and 11 completed clearances.

But their away form is a cause for concern — the joint-worst in the division — and the West Yorkshire outfit will need all of Gracia's nous to grind out a result in the capital.

Make or break

Potter may well face the sack if he loses this crucial clash and Gracia's men could fall as low as 19th if results do not go their way — the stakes are undoubtedly high.

But Potter appears to have retained the support of his dressing room, with Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly recently coming out in support of his English boss.

He said: "Graham Potter is very good at communicating with everyone and he doesn’t care if you cost £100million or £20m, he will treat you in the same way. That’s the mark of a great manager.

"Every player joining Chelsea needs time to adapt. We’re not worried because we know he will lead us forward."

For Gracia, it is more a case of facing his own challenges head-on rather than worrying about the opposition.

He said: "The confidence we have is the work we are doing, not about the rivals in this case, I respect their team a lot and what we expect is a very demanding game, a tough game and we have to be ready for that.

"All I can give is my opinion about Graham Potter and he’s a fantastic manager and I wish him all the best. But of course this next game I’ll try to win."

Saturday's game will be a thrilling tussle of two managers with plenty to lose, but a huge amount to gain from three valuable points.

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