Tottenham Hotspur host north London rivals Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday with a lot at stake for both clubs.
Spurs have had a fortnight to rest and regroup after their limp 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United earlier this month, whereas the Gunners are heading across the capital off the back of a 5-0 crushing of London adversaries Chelsea at home on Tuesday night. The win saw them go four points clear at the top of the table, but Manchester City’s 4-0 demolition of Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Thursday trimmed the gap back to one.
While Ange Postecoglou’s side have top-four ambitions of their own, they know that victory over the Gunners would dent their rivals’ title hopes. Should Mikel Arteta’s men get the desired result, however, they would at least momentarily go four points clear of Man City, who travel to Nottingham Forest later on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal—Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have been dealt a big blow ahead of the north London derby, with Destiny Udogie’s season-ending early after undergoing surgery earlier this month. Oliver Skipp picked up a small knock in training and will be out too. But on a positive update, Ange Postecoglou confirmed that both Pedro Porro and Richarlison have trained all week and are available for selection.
Guglielmo Vicario is a certain starter in between the sticks for the hosts, with a backline featuring Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies. Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma could be tasked with shielding the leaky backline, controlling the tempo of play and creating chances for the forwards.
The task of providing width and flair may fall on the shoulders of Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski, with James Maddison using his creativity and vision to try to unlock the rigid Arsenal defence. Finally, Son Heung-min, who scored a brace in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season, should lead the Spurs attack. Richarlison and Timo Werner are expected to start on the bench.
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta confirmed in his press conference that Jurrien Timber is close to returning to the Arsenal squad after recovering from an ACL injury. The Dutch defender found the net on his return to competitive action for the club’s Under-21 side earlier this week, but Arteta will only decide on his involvement in the derby following Saturday’s training session.
The Gunners have no fresh injury concerns which gives Arteta the liberty to stick with a strong first XI on Sunday. A back four of Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Takehiro Tomiyasu are expected to start in front of goalkeeper David Raya, who kept a clean sheet against Chelsea in midweek.
We could see a change in midfield, as Arteta brings in big-game player Jorginho to replace Thomas Partey, who made his first start on Wednesday after a long-term thigh injury. The Italian’s presence as a holder will allow Declan Rice to push forward and make inroads. Martin Odegaard continues to be the team’s creator-in-chief, and the Arsenal skipper will be looking to make the most of his free role against Spurs.
Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz continue to score goals and remain in good nick whereas Bukayo Saka is an easy pick on the right flank, so Arteta need not make any changes in attack from the Chelsea game.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal—Predicted Lineups
Predicted Tottenham Hotspur Lineup (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Bissouma, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson; Son
Ange Postecoglou and Spurs fans will hope to see Son Heung-min rise in this big occasion on Sunday. The South Korean has seven goals and two assists against Arsenal over the years, including a fine double earlier in the season at the Emirates Stadium. He has lost a yard of pace in the last two seasons but makes up for it with clever movement and clinical finishing, so Arsenal centre-backs Saliba and Gabriel must be wary of Son’s threat.
Bukayo Saka—Arsenal
Despite not grabbing the headlines of late, Bukayo Saka remains among Arsenal’s standout performers and knows how to deliver on derby day having netted a brace in the 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture. The England international’s dribbling, close control and ability to go both ways could create a lot of problems for Spurs’ high defensive line and especially Ben Davies, who is expected to deputise for the injured Udogie. With much more at stake for Arsenal than Spurs, he will be looking to do everything possible to help his boyhood club consolidate their position at the league’s summit.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
