Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti is undoubtedly one of the most decorated managers in the modern game. The Italian has won countless league titles, domestic cups and European honours throughout his 25-year managerial career, stretching from Champions League titles with Real Madrid to Intertoto Cup wins with Juventus.
Leeds United's Marcelo Bielsa is comparably less successful in trophy terms, but has had arguably a similar impact wherever he has coached, revolutionising entire countries and regions' ways of playing football.
Despite their overlapping managerial timelines, Bielsa and Ancelotti have never managed against each other, but Saturday pits the two against each other, representing two clubs perhaps not of the same stature of some of the teams the duo have managed in the past.
Nevertheless, it promises to be an intriguing tactical contest as the artistry of Ancelotti is tested against the brains of Bielsa.
It could be argued that given the comparatively lesser stature of Everton and Leeds United compared to the likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan and Argentina, that this weekend's fixture will prove to be a decider over which coach is the more astute.
Ancelotti has been in the Everton hotseat for 11 months, while Bielsa has spent over two years at Leeds and may have a slight advantage in that regard, but on the whole it has the makings of a brilliant tie, especially given the two teams' wavering form.
Speaking ahead of the game in his pre-match press-conference, Marcelo Bielsa revealed his great "respect and admiration" for the Italian.
"He has been wanted by all the best teams in the world. He has been chosen by some of the most powerful institutions in football, which shows how good he is.
"The second thing is he has triumphed everywhere he has been."
Bielsa is right; Ancelotti has won major silverware at six of his ten managerial appointments, winning multiple with AC Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
That said, the Italian's time at Everton has been punctuated by occasional defeats when he has been without key players or forced into tactical variations away from his favoured four-man defensive setup.
This weekend poses Ancelotti with a problem, in the form of Lucas Digne missing out through injury. The Frenchman is one of Everton's most influential players and the alternatives at left-back are sparse. Niels Nkounkou has just a solitary Premier League start to his name, while Fabian Delph has never looked wholly convincing deputising at full-back.
It will take all of Ancelotti's wisdom to outsmart a veteran of the game like Bielsa, and he could be required to do so creatively with a tactical switch-up. He will be aided by a much stronger squad, boasting the likes of James Rodriguez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Allan but as Arsenal found last weekend, Leeds are no easy opponent.
