LONDON -- Antonio Conte says every team in the Premier League wants to end Chelsea's record-equalling winning run, not just Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea head to White Hart Lane on Wednesday bidding to break the Premier League record for consecutive victories in a single season by earning their 14th win in a row -- a run that stretches back to September.
Tottenham are among the teams who have tasted defeat against Conte's men during that stretch, and striker Harry Kane admits that derailing their London rivals' momentum and denying their attempt at history is giving him and his teammates extra motivation ahead of Wednesday's clash.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has even claimed that the rest of the Premier League wants to see his team beat Chelsea -- who can move eight points clear of second-placed Liverpool with a win -- for the sake of the title race, but Conte believes every opponent the Blues face now will be equally determined.
"I think that this type of game [a London derby] gives you motivation, great motivation," Conte said. "Now I think every team wants to stop our run, not only Tottenham. If you see the table you can see we have only five points more than Liverpool, six more than Manchester City.
"If today Arsenal beats Bournemouth, only six. The league is open and we're only at the first game of the second part of the season. Don't worry about this, about the other teams. Not one person wants to kill the championship."
There is more than simply pride at stake for Tottenham, who will fall 13 points adrift of Chelsea if they lose at White Hart Lane only a few months after mounting their most sustained title challenge of the Premier League era.
But despite being in a worse position at the halfway stage of this campaign, Conte insists that Tottenham are a better team than they were last season.
"Against Tottenham [in November] it was a tough game, a real tough game," Conte said. "I remember and I watched the first half, they played very well, they put on a lot of pressure, they scored, at the end of the first part we equalised with Pedro. In the second half we deserved to win. We played very well.
"But Tottenham showed great form, and they are a great team. For me Tottenham is better than last season. They are a really strong team. They've got a really good manager working really well. This team is improving every year. It's right to compliment Pochettino, who I think is working really well."