EDDIE Howe will tomorrow pit his wits against Maurizio Sarri – a man the Cherries boss has described as "one of the best coaches in the world".

Sarri, who replaced Antonio Conte as Chelsea boss in July, was at the helm at Napoli last season as they mounted an historic Serie A title challenge to Juventus.

The Italian is also renowned for his teams' thrilling style of play and allowed Howe to study his methods when he was in charge at Empoli in May 2015.

Both Howe and Sarri have led their respective clubs to unbeaten starts in the Premier League with sixth-placed Cherries hoping to end Chelsea's 100 per cent winning record when they face off at Stamford Bridge (3pm).

Asked what had prompted him to visit Sarri three years ago, Howe said: "I had heard a lot about his Empoli team and how impressive they were tactically. I was really keen to watch him work so made contact with his people and he was kind enough to allow me to come.

"I spent a period of time with Maurizio and he was brilliant with me. I learned so much and it is no surprise to now see that he is one of the best coaches in the world. I was hugely impressed and learned a lot from that experience.

"He brought Napoli to play us last season and it was great to see him again. He is someone I have a lot of respect for and think he will do a great job with Chelsea."

Asked whether he had implemented anything he had learned from Sarri, Howe said: "It is very important you have your own identity and ideas. You just listen and learn and then think is there anything you can incorporate into our play.

"There were definitely things we took but it was more just being impressed and inspired. The most impressive thing I could see was that he had a real idea of how he wanted to play the game.

"I had knowledge of the Italian league and seeing his team play before I went. If you see impressive things going on on the pitch it means there are impressive things going on behind the scenes.

"At the time, it was easier building relationships with someone in a foreign league and people you are not competing with every week."

Asked for how long he thought Sarri's influence would last on him, Howe replied: "They last forever if they are good things you see.

"You are always learning, every single day, in this job. If you are not learning, you are trying to find new ways, new things and new ideas to stimulate you.

"If you stand still, which is very easy to do because you are wrapped in your own world, then your team will suffer. To this day, I picked up some valuable things from him."