English Premier League: Tottenham vs Arsenal

Arsenal's Granit Xhaka battles Tottenham's Giovani Lo Celso in midfield


Spurs and Arsenal will settle scores at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday in what is London’s biggest footballing rivalry, the North London derby.

In the league last season, Jose Mourinho’s side pipped the Gunners to finish fourth to qualify for this season’s Champions League.

Arsenal may once again miss out on a top-four finish but many Gooners will be hoping to celebrate St. Totteringham’s day – when Spurs cannot mathematically finish above Arsenal on the league table.



At the time of writing, Mikel Arteta’s side are seventh in the Premier League, while the Lilywhites find themselves in 10th place. The last time Arsenal finished above Spurs in the league was in Leicester’s title-winning campaign in 2014/15. 

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Standings provided by Sofascore LiveScore

English Premier League

Sunday 12 July

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

17:30



To Win

Tottenham 27/20

Draw 5/2

Arsenal 19/10



Tottenham

Tottenham have blown hot and cold since football’s resumption but the Lilywhites will be hoping for a morale-boosting win over their bitter rivals as they aim to surge up the Premier League table, with qualification for the Europa League now the revised aim.

The Lilywhites have enjoyed the bragging rights over their neighbours in recent years after finishing higher in the table three years in a row. Their fans would not be happy to see their side end this campaign below the Gunners.

Spurs head into the match as favourites with home ground advantage while Mourinho enjoys a personal head to head record against Arsenal.

Tottenham haven’t lost a home Premier League game against Arsenal since March 2014 when Tomas Rosicky scored the only goal and Arteta was still playing for the Gunners, Mourinho will want it to stay that way.

Mourinho has stuck with a back four since the Premier League returned with Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez the preferred centre-back pairing, but after the defensive horror show at Sheffield United, surely, at least one of Jan Vertonghen or Toby Alderweireld will come into the side. Hugo Lloris, Serge Aurier and Ben Davies are locked in as regular starters.

If Mourinho doesn’t try to do something extraordinary like bring Dier into midfield, I would expect to see Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks in a double-pivot. The pair have a good understanding and are far more reliable together than when Giovani Lo Celso plays deep.

Higher up the pitch, Spurs have plenty of firepower to hurt any team. With Harry Kane leading the line in an all-star attack with Dele Alli behind and Steven Bergwijn and Heung-min Son on the flanks, Arsenal’s backline can expect a busy afternoon. 

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Arsenal



It may be Tottenham with the bird on their crest, but it is Arsenal who are flying high at the moment. Writing before their matchup with Leicester on Tuesday for print purposes, the Gunners seem to have found their rhythm with four wins on the bounce in all competitions.

  

In that run, Arsenal played just once at their Emirates Stadium when they thumped Norwich City 4-0 on July 1. But their recent performances on the road have caught the eye in wins against Southampton, Sheffield United (FA Cup) and Wolves especially, where they were excellent.

With German shot-stopper Bernd Leno ruled out for the season, Emiliano Martinez is set to continue in goal. The Argentinian has yet to concede since starting, while Sead Kolasinac, David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi have looked a lot better in a three-man defence.

Kieran Tierney has made the left flank his own and should provide a constant threat to Serge Aurier, but Arteta will have a selection headache when it comes to the right side of defence with Cedric Soares, Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all vying for that spot.

Granit Xhaka and Daniel Ceballos look to have formed a solid midfield partnership and the likes of Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Joe Willock may have to settle for a place next to out-of-favour Mesut Ozil on the sidelines.

Further up the pitch, I would expect to see a front three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette, with the Frenchman spearheading the attack. Arteta seems to have a lot of faith in Eddie Nketiah, but Lacazette is proven to be a man for the big occasion.

Prediction: Tottenham Win & Both Teams to Score (29/10)

You can always expect fireworks in the North London derby, so it should be another entertaining affair as these two rivals battle it out for bragging rights. I think it will be a very close affair but with home advantage and Tottenham’s frightening attack, I foresee Mourinho’s men edging out a tight encounter. I do think Arsenal will get on the scoresheet, so, I suggest taking Spurs to Win & Both Teams to Score at 29/10. 


Written by Chad Nagel