Antonio Conte will need to fix Tottenham's "embarrassing" record against Chelsea if he wants his team to develop into title challengers.
That's according to Jamie Carragher, speaking ahead of the clash between Conte's current club and his previous employers. Spurs' recent record against the Blues is shocking, with Thomas Tuchel's team winning all four meetings between the sides last season without conceding a goal.
Spurs picked up under their Italian manager towards the end of last season, losing just one of their last 11 games to sneak into the top four. A busy summer and an impressive opening day victory against Southampton have prompted talk of a title challenge, but Carragher has handed Spurs a warning.
"We’ll see a lot about what Spurs are about today and I don’t mean that in terms of the result," Carragher said on Sky Sports. "We’ve just mentioned how many times they’ve won here, it’s embarrassing.
"That’s what [Conte] has to change. If you look at the record last season, against Man City and Liverpool, he got really big results.
"In terms of challenging the top teams and the talk of Spurs this season, it might wind Chelsea up. Considering what Chelsea have won in the past, they’re still world champions and they’re thinking Spurs might take their mantle as the top team in London. I think Chelsea will want to answer a few people today."
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Conte's team put in some impressive performances in the second half of last season, not least against the top two in the league. A 3-2 victory at Manchester City opened up the title race before a point at Anfield dented Liverpool's chances of catching Pep Guardiola's side.
"If I have to reduce the gap, I need to work with the team," Conte told the media ahead of Sunday's game (per football.london ). "Last season, we played three games after only two months since I arrived. Now we've had seven months plus one month of pre-season.
"I think the work we implement that as a team we're better than last season. Then the transfer market is for us and for Chelsea, but the most important thing is not only to sign players, which is important especially when you have to face four competitions you have to have a good squad in the numerical aspect but also to try to improve the quality, and I think we did this.
"But I think Chelsea is one of the best teams in England and Europe. Two years ago they won the Champions League and last season they won the World Cup as a club. I was there, I know the investment that they do every season."
