How Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has fared against his new Premier League rivals over the years

With the upcoming season being Antonio Conte’s first in the Premier League you might be forgiven for thinking he doesn’t have much history with any of his fellow managers.

However, the new Chelsea boss does have a bit of previous with Watford’s new man in the hot seat, Walter Mazzarri.

The two Italian managers have met nine times before.

The first time was when Conte was at Atalanta and Mazzarri was at Napoli. That match ended 2-0 to the Neapolitans.

Conte has had the better of Mazzarri since then though.

He’s won four, drawn three and lost only one more since that first clash. That was was in the Coppa Italia final though.

Conte has only previously played against two other current Premier League managers.

Heading for Chelsea: Italy's coach Antonio Conte reacts (Image: PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Claudio Ranieri has played him three times, won one and lost two.

Jose Mourinho and Conte have only sat in opposing dugouts once, a 1-1 draw between Atalanta and Inter Milan in 2009.

The Premier League is full of superstar managers and some tasty clashes are on the cards, but one stands out more than all the others.

No, it’s not the return of Pep Guardiola vs Jose Mourinho.

Nor is it the Arsene Wenger-Mourinho rivalry that Jose couldn’t resist bringing up in his first press conference as Manchester United boss. It’s not even the return of the Guardiola-Jurgen Klopp clashes that lit up the Bundesliga.

It’s Arsene Wenger against Sam Allardyce.

Wenger and Big Sam have clashed more often than any other pair of current Premier League managers.

Jose Mourinho's Manchester United unveiling in pictures:

Jose Mourinho's Manchester United unveiling in pictures

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The two have been in opposing dugouts 31 times in all competitions since they first crossed swords on September 22, 2001 when Arsenal took on Bolton.

That match ended one-all with goals from Francis Jeffers and Michael Ricketts, who are both members of England’s one cap club.

Since then things have gone mostly Wenger’s way though with the Gunners boss coming out on top 18 times to Allardyce’s five with eight ending in a draw. Wenger is also unbeaten against Allardyce in 10 matches with Blackburn’s 2-1 win on May 3, 2010 being his last loss.

The division’s next most contested battle of the managers is between Arsene Wenger, who crops up a lot in this list, and Steve Bruce.

The two have met 27 times in the past with Wenger winning 19 of them and Bruce just two.

Wenger is also the main winner in the league’s third most frequent clash this time against Stoke’s Mark Hughes who he has coached against 26 times, winning 14 and losing eight.

New boy: Manchester City's new Manager Pep Guardiola is unveiled during a media day

Some of the more marquee managerial battles that’ll grab more of the headlines haven’t happened quite as often though.

The Jose Mourinho-Pep Guardiola clash that will no doubt come to dominate the Manchester Derby has happened 16 times in the past.

Pep has had the better of them though with eight wins to Mourinho’s three.

Mourinho also has a major rivalry with Arsene Wenger, as he made clear in his first press conference as Manchester United manager.

The two have met 15 times in the past with the new United boss coming out on top eight times. Wenger has only beaten Mourinho once - in last season’s Community Shield.

The 2016/17 campaign will also see the return of the Klopp-Guardiola rivalry that sprung up from their time in the Bundesliga.

The two have only met eight times in the past and have won four games each.