Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admits he is a fan of the way Southampton play their football.

The Saints, managed by Claude Puel, have made a reasonable start to the season, sitting in eighth place on 13 points.

And the Italian has been studying them intently in order to thoroughly prepare his Chelsea side for the contest.

He said: “Southampton are a very good team and very strong. I am watching many games and I like Puel as he plays offensive football.

“In every game they play their football. In the last game, they played very well against City and I saw they are more compact in defensive situation.

“It's a very good team. I'm sure on Sunday it'll be a tough game for us but I'm sure it can be a good test to continue after three good games. This test is different as you play away against a team in a good shape. “

Southampton like to play with a front three which will provide an interesting match up against Conte's back trio.

The Italian added: “It's logical when you watch the opponent, you try to find the right solution in both offensive and defensive situations.

“They attack with many players and sometimes they remain with three players in an offensive situation.

“We are working on this aspect as it's important if you want to win to look at the details and prepare our team to play the game to play. It's important to prepare your players.”