Sunday’s Premier League action concludes in the capital as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are set to square off at the Emirates Stadium in an all-London clash.
Both sides are looking to play their way back into the Premier League top-four after blowing hot and cold in this season’s early exchanges.
Despite their disastrous showings in high-profile matches this term, Arsenal will fall back on their imperious scoring form against bitter cross-town rivals.
The Gunners have troubled the scoreboard in each of their last 22 Premier League meetings with Tottenham on home soil since being held to back-to-back goalless draws at Highbury in 1997/98 and 1998/99.
For fantasy football fans, there’s a lot to watch out for in this game. With goals expected, the focus will be on the forward players on both sides and you should check out the predicted lineups for the FPL before locking in your fantasy football team for the weekend. If you’ve got a London-based defender (or keeper), this is the time to get them out of the starting XI.
Arsenal Preview
September’s international window has turned Arsenal’s fortunes around, as Mikel Arteta guided his side from an underwhelming three-game losing Premier League start to back-to-back top-flight victories.
However, it is too early to speak about the Gunners’ resurrection.
Each of Arsenal’s three league defeats this term came by 2+ goals ‘to nil,’ including two in the London derbies, at the hands of competition debutants Brentford and fierce rivals Chelsea.
Meanwhile, both of their triumphs yielded a narrow 1-0 scoreline and arrived at the expense of basement boys Norwich City and Burnley.
Another similar result here would see Arsenal put together three 1-0 Premier League triumphs for the first time since August 2008, while a potential win without conceding would give them three league victories ‘to nil’ for the first time since July 2020.
Interestingly, none of Arsenal’s last four Premier League clashes against cross-town rivals have ended level (W2, L2), with three of the four games won/lost in that sequence seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet.
Tottenham Hotspur Preview
Nuno Espirito Santo’s dream start at Tottenham is fading away on the back of the international break that seems to have curtailed Spurs’ early momentum.
Nuno guided his side to a hat-trick of hard-earned 1-0 Premier League wins in August, taking one of the biggest scalps in English football in the shape of Manchester City in the process.
But a fairytale is now turning into a nightmare as Spurs head into proceedings having lost their last two Premier League fixtures by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
The common denominator? Both those reverses came in London derbies versus Crystal Palace and Chelsea, seeing Tottenham produce a mere three shots on target combined.
Spurs now stare at the possibility of losing three successive league matches by 3+ goals for the first time in their top-flight history and based on their recent fortunes at the Emirates, that’s not a far-fetched prospect.
Tottenham have claimed just one victory in their last 28 Premier League away meetings with Arsenal (D11, L16), courtesy of a 3-2 comeback triumph in November 2010.
Premier League Fantasy Picks
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale has yet to concede a top-flight goal since arriving from Sheffield United. He could become only the third Gunners shot-stopper to register a shutout in his first three league matches between the sticks.
At £4.5m, Ramsdale is amongst the cheapest keepers on the market and given Tottenham’s lacklustre attacking showings of late, he could be a valuable asset.
Despite his sluggish start to the season, Alexandre Lacazette could be Arsenal’s difference-maker in this fixture, having had a hand in six goals across his last eight Premier League appearances against Tottenham.
The ex-Lyon striker has scored in his last three top-flight games against Spurs at the Emirates and could become the first Gunners player to make it four in a row.
Lacazette could be on his way out of the club come the summer transfer window, with Atletico Madrid looking to capture his services, as per the Daily Mail.
So this could be his last chance to shine against Spurs at the Emirates.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham hard-hitter Harry Kane has yet to find the net in the Premier League this season following a toxic summer jammed-full of speculation about his potential move to Manchester City.
The England captain, who was on the scoresheet in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Wolves, drew a blank in his last Premier League appearance against Arsenal.
However, Kane has never failed to score against this opposition twice in a row, and considering the Gunners’ poor defending against top-class rivals, it’s hard to make a case for him not having his share at the Emirates.
With only Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo beating his Fantasy price, it takes no explanation how prolific the 28-year-old can be when feeling his game.
Given Kane’s ability to draw fouls and cards as well as his well-documented scoring prowess, it would be smart to avoid picking any Arsenal defender here.
Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur Provisional Line-ups
Arsenal (4-1-4-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney; Thomas Partey; Nicolas Pepe, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; Alexandre Lacazette.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-2-1): Hugo Lloris; Emerson Royal, Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, Sergio Reguilon; Tanguy Ndombele, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Dele Alli; Giovani Lo Celso, Heung-Min Son; Harry Kane.
