Pep Guardiola Says Antonio Conte 'May Be the Best' Ahead of Chelsea vs. Man City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Chelsea boss Antonio Conte ahead of Wednesday’s meeting between the two sides, suggesting the Italian may well be "the best" coach in the game. 

Chelsea hold a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League table and have been supreme for much of the 2016-17 season. Conte's influence has been key to their tremendous form, and Guardiola didn't hold back in his positive assessment of the former Juventus man when asked for his opinion, per BBC Sport.

"My opinion about my colleague Conte is that he's superb," said Guardiola. "He was able to make Italy play beautiful football—Juventus too—in a culture where it's so defensive. He's an excellent manager, I learn a lot when I see his teams—Juventus, Italy and now. I like to do that because you see what they want to do. Their teams control a lot of aspects. Maybe he's the best."

IAN KINGTON/Getty Images

Although the Blues suffered a surprise setback at the hands of Crystal Palace at the weekend, they remain in a fantastic position to clinch the Premier League title, with plenty of distance between themselves and Tottenham Hotspur in second place.

Given Chelsea toiled for long spells last season, the transformation has been remarkable. The team have been organised, inspired and energetic almost every time they've taken to the field in 2016-17.

Indeed, while the Italian may be calm in his press conferences and interviews, on the sidelines he's abuzz with energy and enthusiasm. That's evidently transferred to his players.

And as Guardiola noted, Conte's record speaks for itself. Here's a look at how these two managerial titans compare in terms of prizes won:

	Guardiola	Conte
Champions League	Barcelona - 2 (2008-09, 2010-11)	-
League titles	Barcelona - 3 (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) Bayern Munich - 3 (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16)	Juventus - 3 (2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14)
Domestic Cups	Barcelona - 2 (2008-09, 2011-12) Bayern Munich - 2 (2013-14, 2015-16)	-

Conte has adapted to English football quicker than Guardiola, whose City team sit in fourth place in the table. They would move up into third place with a win and chop the gap to Chelsea back down eight points.

There's still major work for Guardiola to do at the Etihad Stadium, though. While the team have been sensational in attack in spells, there has been a lack of balance in midfield for much of the season, while defensively plenty of reinforcements are needed in the summer. Conte, by contrast, has players like Thibaut Courtois, David Luiz and N'Golo Kante to call upon.

Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images

As the City manager noted himself recently, there is still a lot of work to do before his team are up to the level of Conte's Chelsea, per James Robson of the Manchester Evening News:

Wednesday's match will be a fascinating insight into these two managers. The first meeting between the two teams, won 3-1 by Chelsea at the Etihad, was an absorbing spectacle and a game City should have won before the Blues put on a counter-attacking masterclass late on.

Conte will be demanding high standards from his players again, as a slip-up here may plant some nerves into the Chelsea players as the finishing line moves into view. However, given the way the Blues have performed for so much of 2016-17, it'd be a big surprise if they weren’t back at full throttle in what should be a pulsating 90 minutes.

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