Antonio Conte has admitted he has no friends left in the Premier League as he prepares for the latest round of his rivalry with Jose Mourinho, but the Italian insists he still has a strong relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Conte, Chelsea’s head coach, was close to Claudio Ranieri and could reunite the former Leicester City manager’s title-winning engine room of N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater for the first time against Manchester United on Sunday.

Ranieri was sacked the season ­after Kante and Drinkwater had inspired Leicester’s incredible Premier League title success and Conte wants to avoid a similar fate.

Mourinho was sacked just seven months after leading Chelsea to the title for the third time over his two spells as manager. Since his first Stamford Bridge reign, only Mourinho himself has managed to spend more than two years in charge.

A defeat at the hands of Mourinho, following the Champions League thrashing to Roma, would prompt more speculation over whether Conte could survive his second season.

Mourinho and Conte have clashed on and off the pitch since the Portuguese first returned to Chelsea as United manager last season, and the Italian is not in the business of trying to forge relationships with his rivals.