The west Londoners are in a state of chaos after owner Todd Boehly’s terrible scattershot approach to the transfer market left them mired in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.
In addition, Chelsea supporters will want to see Pochettino improve on his record of 23 wins from 82 games against the so-called “Big Six” if he is to turn around their team’s fortunes given that Manchester City, Arsenal, and both Manchester City and Manchester United are expected to strengthen before the upcoming season.
In his time with Southampton, Tottenham, and PSG, let’s see how he performed against the top Premier League players.
The North London Derby was the biggest match I managed while at Tottenham.
Pochettino will probably feel unhappy that his head-to-head record with the Gunners isn’t a little bit better with only three wins from 13 matches given Spurs’ dominance over their fierce rivals throughout his time in command.
Aside from the farcical title-chasing season of 2015/16, he did outperform Arsenal in all but one of his five full seasons in charge, and he also never dropped a home match against them.
In his two matches with Southampton, Pochettino was able to defeat Arsenal with a win and a draw.
Chelsea
Played: 17 Won: 6 Drawn: 2 Lost: 9
Against his new employers, Pochettino has six victories while also conceding 35 goals.
The Argentine lost two semi-final heartbreaks against Chelsea, first losing 4-2 at Wembley in the 2017 FA Cup and then losing on penalties in the 2019 Carabao Cup. Both losses occurred when the Argentine was playing for Spurs.
The goals from John Terry and Diego Costa helped the Blues defeat Tottenham 2-0 in the 2015 Carabao Cup final.
The ‘Battle of the Bridge’ Premier League match in 2016, however, may be the most notable match Pochettino has supervised against Chelsea. In that match, the home team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a draw and end Tottenham’s prospects of winning the championship.
Manchester City
Played: 20 Won: 6 Drawn: 3 Lost: 11
With the talent of his Spurs team and the superstars he had at his disposal with PSG, Pochettino only won slightly less than one-third of his games versus Manchester City.
Two of the victories came before Pep Guardiola took over as manager of City, but Pochettino did win their first Premier League match in October 2016 with a decisive 2-0 victory at White Hart Lane.
Spurs did get to the Champions League quarterfinals in 2019 under the direction of Pochettino, winning 4-4 on away goals after an improbable 4-4 aggregate tie.
He failed to duplicate the feat with PSG in the 2021 semifinals, losing both legs as City advanced to face Chelsea in the championship game.
Arsenal
Played: 15 Won: 4 Drawn: 7 Lost: 4
The North London Derby was the biggest match I managed while at Tottenham.
Pochettino will probably feel unhappy that his head-to-head record with the Gunners isn’t a little bit better with only three wins from 13 matches given Spurs’ dominance over their fierce rivals throughout his time in command.
Aside from the farcical title-chasing season of 2015/16, he did outperform Arsenal in all but one of his five full seasons in charge, and he also never dropped a home match against them.
In his two matches with Southampton, Pochettino was able to defeat Arsenal with a win and a draw.
Manchester United
Played: 14 Won: 4 Drawn: 3 Lost: 7
In Pochettino’s lone full season with Southampton, 2013–14, the two teams drew 1–1 both at home and away.
In the closing months of Jose Mourinho’s increasingly dissatisfied tenure at Old Trafford, Pochettino’s four victories over United with Spurs came in August 2018, with a 3-0 scoreline.
That triumph, meanwhile, came just four months after United had defeated Spurs 2-1 at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinals.
Victor Wanyama and Harry Kane scored goals to lead Tottenham to a 2-1 victory against United in the final game to ever take place at White Hart Lane.
Liverpool
Played: 16 Won: 3 Drawn: 4 Lost: 9
When Pochettino takes over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea supporters will be hoping he can turn around his dismal record against Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
He only managed three victories in 16 encounters with Liverpool, and two of those came while he was in charge of Southampton.
The 4-1 Premier League triumph at Wembley in October 2017 was Pochettino’s lone triumph over the Reds while managing Spurs.
His time at Tottenham reached a low point when they lost to Liverpool in the Champions League final, a 2-0 score in Madrid thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.