Tottenham-Arsenal is one of the biggest rivalries in the English Premier League, and their matches in the North London derby are often feisty. Arsenal has long been the better team, but Tottenham are in third place, sitting three spots and four points ahead of their rivals as they head to Arsenal on Saturday. These two clubs better be ready to go right out of the international break.
What To Know About Tottenham
Tottenham got a second-half goal from Son Heung-Min to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at home in their last match before the international break, and this followed a famous 3-1 romp over Real Madrid in te Champions League. Tottenham have actually been better on the road in the league, winning four and losing one of their five games with 12 goals scored and three goals allowed, so that could serve them well. However, they return from the break with some injury worries as Harry Kane (knee), Harry Winks (ankle) and Dele Alli (hamstring) all have knocks, while Toby Alderweireld (hamstring) probably won’t play and Hugo Lloris (hip) should also be out. While Kane, Alli and Winks will likely be able to go, not having Alderweireld in defense and Lloris in goal will definitely hurt Spurs at the back. That means the attacking players will have to be even better, such as Christian Eriksen, who netted a hat trick to fire Denmark through to the World Cup.
What To Know About Arsenal
Arsenal fell 3-1 at Manchester City in a game where they didn’t even play that badly; they were simply outclassed by a much better team, although it was encouraging that they didn’t back down or give up. Alexandre Lacazette scored for Arsenal and he played well for France in an international friendly against Germany, so he could be in the running for a start in his North London derby debut. Olivier Giroud (thigh) could be out for this game, so that clears the way for Lacazette even more, and Shkodran Mustafi (thigh) might not be ready to go as well. But outside of that, Arsenal are quite healthy, they just need their big players to step up, like Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. These two have been floundering this season and Arsenal fans expect nothing less than their best in a game against Tottenham.
Outlook
Arsenal are the home favorites at +130 and Tottenham comes in at +187, with a draw listed at +250. Arsenal has won four and drawn four of their last 10 meetings with Tottenham, who won and drew in last year’s matches with Arsenal, who are a perfect 5-0-0 at home this season with 13 goals scored and four goals allowed. Tottenham hasn’t won at Arsenal since November 2010, a span of seven games, and if they’re coming into this game less than full strength, a draw is probably a good result. The onus is on Arsenal’s players to take control of this game and put Spurs on the back foot, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can.
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