Pep
Guardiola says Antonio Conte is one of the best coaches in the world ahead
of the pair's meeting this Saturday.
City host Chelsea at the Etihad in the early Saturday kick off, live on
Sky Sports 1, in what will be the first-ever managerial face-off
between Guardiola and Conte in their careers.
Chelsea have won their last seven Premier League games to hit the summit of
the table and Guardiola hailed the Italian's impact at Stamford Bridge.
"Conte is one of the best coaches in the world right now," the City boss
said. "I learned a lot from my time in Italy. They have no problem staying
in the box for 89 minutes and using amazing counter-attacks.
"He made an exceptional job in Turin with Juventus and with the national
team as well.
"You realise his strengths in his team. He has won seven in a row, and it
shows how good Chelsea are doing.
"They were a contender to win the Premier League from the beginning, now
maybe more than before. It's a good test for us."
Guardiola will be hoping his side can return to wining ways at home
following successive 1-1 draws against Southampton and Middlesbrough in the
league.
One factor which may pay dividends is the fact that for the first time under
Guardiola's stewardship, City have had a full week off.
"We were 11, 12, 13 days without a day off. We like to play football, but
for everybody, sometimes it's good [time off]. It was good," Guardiola
added.
"I like to give days off to the players to think about other things when you
have a lot of games in a row.
"That's why we had two days off and were training three days to prepare not
only the game against Chelsea but the next ones."
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