LONDON -- Tottenham are benefitting from continuity under Mauricio Pochettino and have grown stronger this season thanks to the summer signing of Victor Wanyama, according to Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte.
The Blues head to White Hart Lane on Wednesday knowing a victory will increase the gap over their London rivals to 13 points, only months after Spurs mounted their most sustained title challenge of the Premier League era.
But Conte insists that Tottenham have improved since last season, and says only a combination of Chelsea's "incredible" form since September and Spurs' bad luck has led to Pochettino's men falling so far off the title pace in the first half of the campaign.
"I think Tottenham in this part of the season was unlucky in some games, but I think they are stronger if you compare to last season," Conte said. "Another year to work with Pochettino ... now there is this difference in the table only because we did an incredible run. But I consider them a great team.
"This group is a young team, and many players are growing. Every year they pass with this club and continue to work with the same manager, they are improving a lot. Also in this season I think Wanyama is a very important player. He's a really good player. Then there are a lot of other [players] who are improving a lot."
Asked to clarify what he likes about Wanyama, Conte replied: "Quality and quantity. In his football he has quality and stamina, work rate, great commitment for the team. I like this."
Conte visited Pochettino at Tottenham's training ground during his time as Italy coach and spoke highly of the Argentine before the two teams met at Stamford Bridge in November, a match the Blues won 2-1. He believes that his rival is primed to challenge for major trophies now and in the coming years at White Hart Lane or elsewhere.
"I think Pochettino is showing that he can be one of the best coaches in the world, because I repeat: He is doing fantastic work with Tottenham," Conte said. "They are one team that can fight to win the title in the present and the future. I give my best compliment to him because I saw this in the past and I'm seeing this in the present, that they are a really strong team."
On the subject of his visit to Pochettino, the Chelsea boss added: "I saw the training ground, I spoke with him. We spoke about football and also about our ideas of football.
"I found a lot of similar things. We like to play from the back, [have] possession, and also to find the right solution to go towards the goal and finish very quickly the action when you start [the attack]."