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Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal – North London derby preview

Arsenal are scheduled to face Tottenham Hotspur on the road in Sunday’s north London derby in the Premier League.

The Gunners have experienced a wretched start to the season and they are presently lying 14th on the table with just 13 points after 10 games. That constitutes their worst ever start to a Premier League season.

Spurs, on the other hand, have improved as the campaign has gone along and they are currently top of the standings on goal difference to Liverpool. They will go into the weekend’s derby as the firm favourites.

Key Stats:

The Arsenal-Tottenham rivalry has been closely fought over the past 10 league meetings. There have been five draws while Spurs and Gunners have won three and two games respectively.

The Gunners have not fared well against Spurs away from home and they have not beaten them in the Premier League since the 1-0 win in March 2014.

There has not been a goalless draw between the sides since February 2009 when Emmanuel Eboue was sent off for the Gunners in the first half.

The last four league meetings have seen both teams find the back of the net. Harry Kane is the joint top-scorer with Emmanuel Adebayor with 10 goals in the derby’s history.

Team News:

Tottenham Hotspur:

Erik Lamela is an expected absentee as he has yet to recover from a foot concern. Toby Alderweireld has, meanwhile, returned to training after a groin injury and could return for the derby. In midweek, Jose Mourinho reported that Harry Kane, Carlos Vinicius and Sergio Reguilon were out with injuries, but later added that they could face Arsenal. The Portuguese seems to have started his mind games already.

Arsenal:

Mikel Arteta’s side will definitely be without Gabriel Martinelli, who is still stepping up his fitness following a knee surgery during the backend of last season. Elsewhere, Nicolas Pepe will be serving the second game of his three-match domestic ban. Thomas Partey has, however, returned to training after a thigh problem and has a chance of making the line-up.

Predicted Line-ups:

Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris; Serge Aurier, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Sergio Reguilon; Moussa Sissoko, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele; Heung-min Son, Steven Bergwijn, Harry Kane

Arsenal (3-4-3): Bernd Leno; Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kieran Tierney; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka; Willian, Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Predicted Score:

Tottenham are definitely in the better run of league form and they are unbeaten since the defeat to Everton in the curtain-raiser. The club recently went on a four-match winning streak before drawing blank against Chelsea in a 0-0 draw.

On the contrary, the Gunners started the season with back-to-back wins, but they have since endured a tough run with just two wins from the next eight games. They are presently winless in the past three matches with just one point gained and will go into the derby as the underdogs.

Goalscoring has been the main concern for the Gunners with just 10 goals from as many matches. Spurs have had no such concerns with 21 goals during the same period. With the superb form of Kane and Son upfront, they should come up with the three points, although it won’t be a straightforward game.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal

Stats from Transfermarkt.com and 11v11.com

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