Antonio Conte: Tottenham do not need Harry Kane to beat Chelsea

Vaishali Bhardwaj30 March 2018

Antonio Conte believes Tottenham have enough quality in their squad without star striker Harry Kane to hand Chelsea a tough test when the two teams meet on Sunday.

Spurs visit Stamford Bridge this weekend in a clash that could play a key role in determining which of the two sides secures a Champions League spot for next season.

Tottenham, who sit five points above Chelsea in fourth place, will be without Kane for the match due to an ankle injury suffered earlier in March.

Standard Sport understands Kane is making excellent progress during rehabilitation, although he did not train with the Spurs first team on Wednesday.

But Conte thinks Tottenham will still be difficult opposition to beat on Sunday - even if Kane does not make Mauricio Pochettino's starting XI.

"I think that we are talking about one of the best strikers in the world," Conte told reporters on Thursday when asked about Kane. "I consider him one of the best strikers in the world. When you have a player, a striker, who scores 30 goals every season, for sure when he's missing you can feel this.

"But, at the same time, Tottenham are an important team for the whole team. They have many important players, many talented players. They play good football with great intensity. Also, in the past, they showed that, despite Kane missing many games, nothing has changed."

Should Chelsea lose to Spurs on Sunday, they will then be eight points off Tottenham in the race for a top-four spot.

Despite the obvious uphill struggle for the Blues in securing a Champions League place in such a scenario, Conte insists it will not be impossible for Chelsea to achieve their aims of ending in the top four and winning the FA Cup this season.

"For sure, this is an important game," he said. "Our target for this final (stretch) of the season is to take a place in the Champions League and reach the final of the FA Cup and, this season, try and win it.

"These must be our targets for this final part of the season. Sunday is an important game for us. If we win, we go very close to Tottenham. Otherwise, we continue to stay not so close and, with seven games to go, it will be difficult to take a place in the Champions League.

"Nothing is impossible. In this run, I put Liverpool as well. But, for sure, for us, we have to try to win every game, not to make a lot of mistakes, don't drop points. It will be very important in this final (run) of the season."

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