One of the standout fixtures in the Premier League calendar will take place at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Arsenal welcome Tottenham Hotspur for the North London derby.
Arsenal are currently 10th in the table, having picked up just 38 points from 27 matches this season, while Tottenham occupy seventh, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand.
Match preview
© Reuters
Arsenal will enter Sunday's contest off the back of a morale-boosting 3-1 win over Olympiacos in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie, which has placed them in a strong position to reach the quarter-finals.
The Gunners will more than likely have to win this season's Europa League in order to be present in the 2021-22 Champions League as they currently sit down in 10th position in the table, 12 points off the top four.
Mikel Arteta's side have won just 11 of their 27 league matches this season and suffered 11 defeats, which is just one fewer than Fulham in 18th and the same as struggling Brighton & Hove Albion.
The capital giants have had two recent impressive wins against Leeds United and Leicester City in England's top flight, but they were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley at Turf Moor last weekend, with a mistake from Granit Xhaka allowing Chris Wood to cancel out an early goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
© Reuters
Arsenal are seven points behind seventh-placed Tottenham on the same number of matches, and it is incredibly difficult to imagine the Gunners finishing in a potential European spot, which as mentioned, places a lot of pressure on their current Europa League campaign.
Home form has been an issue this term, with Arteta's side dropping points in eight of their 13 league matches at the Emirates Stadium, while they have not enjoyed their recent meetings with Tottenham, losing three of the last five fixtures between the two sides in all competitions.
Bukayo Saka has been a shining light for Arsenal this season but too many of the club's experienced players have struggled for consistency, and it will be fascinating to see how much money is available for transfers this summer as investment is needed to make them a top-four challenger once again.
The London giants are entering a key run of matches, facing Olympiacos in the second leg of their last-16 Europa League tie next week before taking on West Ham United and Liverpool in back-to-back league matches, and they will be determined to halt Tottenham's top-four challenge this weekend.
© Reuters
Like Arsenal, Spurs will enter Sunday's North London derby off the back of a positive result in the Europa League, with Harry Kane scoring twice in a 2-0 home success over Dinamo Zagreb.
In all competitions, Tottenham have now won their last five matches, including their last three in the Premier League against Burnley, Fulham and Crystal Palace.
There was a lot of pressure on the team to pick up a strong result against Palace last weekend, and an excellent performance saw Kane and Gareth Bale both net braces in a 4-1 success.
After losing 2-1 to West Ham United on February 21, Jose Mourinho's side looked out of contention for a top-four spot, but the club are now just five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand and will certainly believe that they are capable of claiming a Champions League position.
© Reuters
Kane and Son Heung-min have again enjoyed strong seasons for the club, while Bale appears to be finding form at the perfect time, with the Wales international scoring four times in his last three league appearances.
Spurs have the second leg of their last-16 Europa League clash away to Dinamo Zagreb next Thursday but are not back in league action until a trip to Aston Villa on March 21, which makes Sunday's derby even more important as they look to stay in and around the European positions.
Mourinho's side will also face Manchester City in the final of the EFL Cup at the end of April, and it could be a brilliant end to the campaign for the club, who have certainly had their problems this season.
As mentioned, Arsenal's home form this term has been indifferent, but Tottenham have also found it difficult to show consistency on their travels, dropping points in seven of their 13 league fixtures away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Sunday's clash with the Gunners should be a fascinating affair.
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Arsenal have a fully-fit squad for the North London derby, with Emile Smith Rowe making his return from injury as a substitute against Olympiacos in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Arteta is not expected to make too many changes for Sunday's contest, although Pablo Mari should return at the heart of the defence, while Nicolas Pepe is likely to be given the nod over Willian.
Martin Odegaard should again feature as the number 10 behind Aubameyang, meanwhile, with Saka, Thomas Partey and Xhaka also set to retain their spots against Mourinho's side.
As for Tottenham, Giovani Lo Celso remains a slight doubt with a back problem, but Kane should be available despite suffering a knock to his knee during Thursday's clash with Dinamo.
Kane, who is the leading goalscorer in North London derbies with 11, had an ice pack on the injured area in the latter stages of the Europa League contest, but Mourinho revealed after the game that his star player should be fit.
There will be changes from Thursday's match, with Matt Doherty, Toby Alderweireld, Sergio Reguilon and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg set to return, while Bale and Lucas Moura should also be in the XI.
Harry Winks was handed a start against Palace last weekend, but Tanguy Ndombele could get the nod alongside Hojbjerg for the North London derby.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Mari, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Pepe; Aubameyang
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Bale, Lucas, Son; Kane
Head To Head
Arsenal lead the overall head-to-head record between these two teams, winning 82 times to Tottenham's 66, while there have also been 54 draws throughout history.
As mentioned, Spurs have won three of the last five meetings in all competitions, including the last two in the Premier League, triumphing 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in December.
The last league meeting at the Emirates Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw in September 2019, and Spurs have not actually beaten Arsenal away from home in the league since November 2010.
Tottenham are bidding to complete a top-flight double over Arsenal for the first time since the 1992-93 campaign, but they have won just two of their last 35 away league games against the Gunners.
We say: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Mourinho has lost just two of his 22 matches as a manager against Arsenal, and we are struggling to see a home victory in this match. Arsenal have certainly shown improvement in recent weeks, though, and they are more than capable of making it a tough afternoon for their bitter rivals. We are expecting a close match at the Emirates Stadium and have ultimately settled on a low-scoring draw.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 42.58%. A win for Arsenal had a probability of 32.93% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.43%) and 0-2 (6.62%). The likeliest Arsenal win was 2-1 (7.73%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.41%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood.
