Antonio Conte: Tottenham believe Stamford Bridge curse can be broken

Antonio Conte says Tottenham travel to Chelsea with ambition despite their poor past form at Stamford Bridge but admits it is a “good surprise” to have seemingly closed the gap on their rivals so quickly.

Spurs have tasted victory at the home of the Blues on just one occasion since the Premier League started in 1992 and their overall record against the west London outfit is also extremely poor.

Chelsea have won the last five meetings and handed out three humbling defeats to Tottenham in January, which left Conte to reflect on the distance between his current charges and his old team.

The Italian has made huge progress at Spurs in the ensuing months, with a top-four finish achieved and several new signings improving squad depth while Chelsea are in a transitional period after long-term owner Roman Abramovich departed in May alongside numerous key personnel.

It adds to the intrigue before Sunday’s clash and Conte is confident a different Tottenham will show up.

“Honesty last season it was the period when I was really frustrated because for me it was not normal to lose three games in a row in only two weeks against the same team,” he said.

“My players tried to give everything but for injuries and a lot of situations, we had only been working together for two months, it was very difficult to reach a good result against Chelsea.

“Now on Sunday the situation is different. We worked for eight months together, we improved the team because we finished in the top four and to do that wasn’t easy but we showed we deserved it.

“The belief now is different. We don’t have the injuries we did last season, but for sure we are going to play against a top team. We want to try to show that we are going in the right way to face this type of team with ambition, not only to fight, but with ambition. This will be very important.”

Six signings this summer has added to the overall feeling Tottenham have a squad capable of upsetting the duopoly of Manchester City and Liverpool.