Antonio Conte wary of Wolves as Bruno Lage team typify top-flight toughness

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte says Wolves are a good example of why the Premier League is so tough.

Spurs welcome Bruno Lage’s team to north London on Sunday knowing they will be overtaken if the visitors win.

That is a testament to the job the former Benfica manager has done at Molineux as they were tipped to struggle this season after enduring a mediocre campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo last term.

But Lage has turned them into European challengers and Conte knows a tough test awaits his side.

“First of all, I think he’s doing a fantastic job with Wolverhampton,” the Italian said of his counterpart.

“When you study his team, you understand that behind this team there is a lot of good work.

“He’s doing very well. We know that the game that we’re facing will be very tough for us, but we know very well that we lost the previous game and we need to play a really good game and get three points against Wolverhampton.

“Wolverhampton is the reality of the Premier League, a really good team, players and manager.

Conte seems primed to hand a full debut to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who has impressed off the bench in his opening two games.

The Spurs boss says his new player is best equipped to play in a midfield two, but can also operate in a three.

Conte said: “I think the best position for him is to play (as one of) two midfielders. He always played there but then with the national team and also sometimes with Juventus, he also played in a three in the midfield but in my mind the perfect suit for him is to play with the two midfielders.”