Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 7y

'It's a pity' that Kevin De Bruyne isn't playing for Chelsea - Antonio Conte

LONDON -- Antonio Conte admits it is a pity that "fantastic" Kevin De Bruyne is playing for Manchester City rather than Chelsea, and hopes that the Belgian will not make his former club pay when the two teams meet on Saturday.

Chelsea go into the match at the Etihad Stadium one point clear of City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, having recorded seven consecutive victories since Conte's decision to switch to a 3-4-3 system in September.

It is a clash ranking among the biggest of the season so far and once more pits Chelsea against De Bruyne, who became the fifth-most expensive player in history when he moved to City from Wolfsburg for £55 million in the summer of 2015, just 18 months after leaving Stamford Bridge to join the Bundesliga club in an £18m deal.

De Bruyne clashed with Jose Mourinho over a lack of first-team opportunities before his departure but has established himself as a world-class performer since his return to England, and he produced an outstanding performance as City beat Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in April.

"De Bruyne played with Chelsea and is a really great player," Conte said. "It's a pity that, now, he's playing for another team because he's a fantastic player. But now he plays with Manchester City. I wish for him the best -- after our game."

Chelsea will bring plenty of attacking threat of their own to the Etihad Stadium, having scored 19 goals over the course of their seven-match win streak. Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have directly accounted for 10 of those strikes, with the Spain international consolidating his position at the top of the Premier League scoring charts.

Costa remains just one yellow card away from an automatic suspension but has avoided referee sanction in his last seven Premier League appearances, and Conte says he is happy that his star striker has managed to ally discipline to the natural fire in his game.

"I'm pleased for him, for Diego," Conte added. "Diego is showing great respect, great passion in the right way during these games. It's fantastic for him, for his teammates, for the club. Also it's great to talk about Diego in a positive way and not a bad way.

"I remember at the start of the season, the only questions on Diego were about his passion not being good, about trying to change his behaviour and attitude.

"I think Diego is behaving very well and his attitude is fantastic. Now it's important to continue in this way."

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