Saturday 3 December 2016 12:41, UK
Antonio Conte is relishing the opportunity to pit his wits against Pep Guardiola when Chelsea visit the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City, live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday.
The two high-profile coaches will meet for the first time in their careers with City trailing Premier League leaders Chelsea by a solitary point.
Both coaches are off to strong starts after arriving in the Premier League with huge reputations and Conte says he has great admiration for his Spanish counterpart.
Conte said: "I've never faced Pep. I have great respect for him because he likes to study football; he likes to find a new solution.
"It's not easy when you have an idea to transfer it in a short period of time. But he is a fantastic manager and he's doing fantastic work at Manchester City.
"He's found a good situation in Manchester City. There is a sporting director and another who worked with him at Barcelona. He found the right situation to put his idea of football across quickly.
"When I see them, I see the idea of football, I like this and for me Pep is doing fantastic work.
"It is my first season in England and this game is fantastic."
Chelsea come into the game in red-hot form after seven successive league wins, though they did see their run of six straight Premier League clean sheets end when Christian Eriksen scored for Tottenham in the Blues' 2-1 win last Saturday.
Conte's switch to a 3-4-3 formation has proved to be successful, but the Italian expects his side to face their stiffest test of the season against City.
"After six wins in a row without conceding a goal, there's a bit of disappointment," Conte admitted. "But we didn't concede the chance to concede a second. We need to continue to be solid.
"Tomorrow is a great test for us and our formation. We know it won't be easy because tomorrow we face a really great team with a great idea of football.
"But also tomorrow we want to show we are working really well. Tomorrow is another step to show us if something is changing compared to the start of the season."
Conte was also asked about the future of assistant coach Steve Holland, who is understood to be wanted by Gareth Southgate as part of England's backroom set-up.
"The situation is very clear," Conte explained. "Steve is one of my assistant coaches and working very well. He is working for Chelsea for many years. I'm very happy for his commitment, attitude and work rate.
"He gives me great help. I don't know what happens in the future. This matter is for the FA. But now I am pleased to have him."
Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4th!
