West Ham boss Slaven Bilic believes Antonio Conte will be a success as Chelsea manager.
The Blues will begin the new season – and Conte’s reign as boss – against Bilic’s side in a London derby at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
“I rate him very highly,” said Bilic, whose team finished seventh last season – three places above Chelsea.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Monday’s game, Bilic added: “Antonio Conte is a great manager and wants to change the way they approach the game and the principles. We expect a tough game against Chelsea.
“But we are excited about the first game. We have had a good pre-season and have a good squad.”
Hammers trio Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Darren Randolph have been nursing minor injuries but trained on Wednesday and are expected to be available for next week’s match.