Chelsea - Man Utd: How Ten Hag and Potter made their way to Premier League's top table
The two coaches have had vastly different journeys through football, with Graham Potter (47) starting off in university football while Erik ten Hag (52) had to make a name for himself in the Netherlands.
Ten Hag's career so far
The Dutchman is best known for building the famous Ajax side that was just minutes away from a Champions League final in 2019, but his managerial experience stretches back almost 20 years prior to that.
Ten Hag had an OK career as a player in the Eredivise, turning out most notably for FC Twente before retiring and becoming manager of their under-17s side in 2002. A year later he was promoted to the under-19s before eventually becoming assistant manager to first-team coach Fred Rutten in 2007.
Then, in 2008, Steven McClaren took charge and worked with ten Hag for another year before the latter moved on to take an assistant role at PSV and reunite with Rutter. He would then take his first managerial role at Go Ahead Eagles in 2012 and spend a year in charge there before taking the managerial role at Bayern Munich II.
It was here where he worked closely with Pep Guardiola - who was in charge of the first team - before returning to the Netherlands in 2015 to manage FC Utrecht where he spent a season as a player in the 90s.
Ajax came calling two years later and ten Hag would build a name for himself there over the span of five seasons, winning the league three times and the domestic cup twice while also reaching a Champions League semi-final.
Aside from the trophies, he also helped to develop a number of talented players including Frenkie de Jong (25), Matthijs de Ligt (23), Donny van de Beek (25) and Hakim Ziyech (29), who each earnt moves to major European clubs under the tutelage of ten Hag.
Five incredibly successful years at Ajax saw Manchester United take an interest and appoint the 52-year-old in the summer of 2022 after a disastrous six months under Ralf Rangnick.
Despite losing his first two games in charge, United now look like a formidable side capable of becoming a real force in the Premier League, as already shown with wins against Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
It also looks like Ten Hag is building a strong squad by bringing in talents like Lisandro Martinez (24), Antony (22) and Casemiro (30) while not being afraid to upset current members of the team, as shown recently when banishing Cristiano Ronaldo (37) from training.
How does Potter compare?
The current Chelsea manager's coaching journey is vastly different to that of ten Hag.
Potter bounced around the English Football League (EFL) as a player, turning out for the likes of West Brom and York City before retiring in 2005.
It didn't take the coach long to find his first role, remarkably managing at university level while completing his own studies.
Potter took charge of the team at Leeds Metropolitan University while doing a Master's degree in 'leadership and personal and professional development'. He also coached when studying at the University of Hull, where his already unorthodox career got slightly stranger.
In 2007 he took up the role of technical director for the Ghanaian women's national team at the World Cup in China. The side lost all three of their games and failed to make it out of the group stages.
Just when it seemed to be slowing down for Potter, he took the biggest step of his career in 2011 when he joined Ostersunds FK in the fourth tier of Swedish football.
Over the next seven years, he would lead a charge up the divisions in Sweden with three promotions and a Swedish cup victory which booked them a spot in the Europa League qualifying rounds in 2017/18.
Potter would truly put himself on the map with that Europa League campaign, beating the likes of Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin and PAOK Salonika and winning their group which contained Athletic Bilbao.
A knockout round tie against Asrenal followed where Ostersunds ultimately fell short over two legs but they did claim a famous 2-1 win at the Emirates.
Not long after, Potter found himself in charge of Swansea in the Championship where he would spend just one season and finish 10th before being picked up by Brighton.
Much like ten Hag, Potter would spend time developing talented players and establishing himself as one of the most promising coaches in the country.
The likes of Robert Sanchez (24), Marc Cucurella (24), Ben White (25) and Yves Bissouma (26) all developed into fine players under Potter and the majority secured moves away to bigger clubs - much like the Ajax talent under Ten Hag.
After the sacking of Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea moved quickly to bring in Potter and some of his coaching staff. It remains to be seen how he will shape the side once he can bring in his own players but his start to life in London has been good, with Chelsea yet to lose a game under his stewardship.
Interestingly, Potter has already come out on top against ten Hag once this season when his Brighton side won 2-1 at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season.
Saturday evening will see two of the most exciting coaches in the country go head-to-head again, with both sides looking for wins to boost their top four credentials.
