Tottenham vs Arsenal Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Tottenham:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Arsenal:
Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Nketiah
Tottenham host their biggest rivals and league leaders Arsenal in the 193rd North London derby on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners are more successful with 80 victories, while the Spurs have 61. The draw occurred on the remaining 51 matches. The first meeting between the two teams was a friendly on 19 November 1887, however, a proper rivalry between the two teams did not begin until 1913, when Arsenal moved from the Manor Ground, Plumstead to Highbury, just four miles from Tottenham's White Hart Lane. The move was opposed by Tottenham as they considered Highbury their territory. The move made Arsenal Tottenham's nearest neighbors and thus began a natural local rivalry. A 2003 online survey found that Arsenal supporters most dislike Tottenham, and that Tottenham fans see Arsenal as their main rivals. The games between these two teams are always interesting, with lot of passion and lot of yellow cards, sometimes red too, like in the last mutual game played in October when Emerson Royal saw a red card for his reckless challenge on Martinelli.
Tottenham will try to record an important victory here. The Spurs have 33 points and sit on the fifth place, behind Manchester United. The fans are hungry for some success, but securing a Champions League spot is their realistic objective. In the first match after the international break they shared the points with Brentford. The opponents had 2:0 after 60 minutes, but the Spurs managed to escape the defeat through Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. They weren't so lucky in the next round. Tottenham conceded two goals from Aston Villa and lost 2:0. Manager Antonio Conte wasn't satisfied with the fact his men dropped five points. Obviously the players received a proper lesson from him that resulted with much better performance and a high 4:0 win against Crystal Palace. Kane was double scorer, while the remaining two goals were netted by Matt Doherty and Son. The Italian coach has some issues ahead of this match. He is still without the Brazilian duo Richarlison and Lucas Moura, while
Rodrigo Bentancur and Ives Bissouma are rated as doubtful.
Arsenal are leaders on the table with 44 points. After many years, the fans start dreaming about the title. The Gunners have played three matches after the World Cup break. They managed to beat West Ham and Brighton, but played only a goalless draw with Newcastle. In addition, they were successful in the FA Cup where eliminated Oxford. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, while the players confidence is high. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League matches, including five wins from their last six top-flight games on the road. Ramsdale has conceded just six goals away from home, the best defensive record of its kind in the Premier League alongside Manchester City and Newcastle. Arteta has some injury concerns ahead of this match. Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson remain sidelined with a knee and thigh injury respectively, but Emile Smith Rowe has recovered from groin surgery and played against Oxford in the FA Cup. Bukayo Saka limped off against Oxford, but Arteta said the 21-year-old will be available for this match. Some regulars (Ramsdale, Partey and Odegaard) that were rested in the cup, is expected to start here.
Tottenham vs Arsenal Prediction:
I think Tottenham are able to upset the leaders. Arsenal showed some weaknesses against strong teams. They lost at Old Trafford, while failed to score against Newcastle in the last round. The absence of Gabriel Jesus is a huge handicap. Tottenham have two fantastic strikers in Kane and Son, both able to score from nothing.
Tottenham vs Arsenal Pick: Tottenham +0.5 AH @ 1.74 with
Pinnacle