Tottenham v Arsenal – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Tottenham host Arsenal on Sunday in the North London derby. Spurs need a win to keep their top four hopes alive whilst the Gunners have to win in the title race. Arsenal won this fixture last season after a run of six losses in seven away derbies against Tottenham.

Tottenham Form

Spurs have won ten of their last 16 league fixtures but two heavy defeats in the last five has damaged their top-four hopes. They beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at home and superbly won 4-0 win at Aston Villa. A poor 3-0 loss at Fulham followed to highlight their inconsistency.

A late goal sealed a 2-1 win over Luton before a 1-1 draw at West Ham and a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest. Tottenham last played two weeks ago as they were thrashed 4-0 at Newcastle. The Magpies man-marked Spurs all over the pitch and exploited their leaky defence.

Tottenham Team News

Spurs will hope to have Richarlison back from a knee injury. Pedro Porra should also be available after a hamstring complaint forced him off at Newcastle. Fringe players Manor Solomon and Ryan Sessegnon are injured.

Ange Postecoglou could change up his midfield after hooking Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma early in the last match. Dejan Kulusevski is pushing for a recall in place of Timo Werner or Brennan Johnson.

Tottenham Motivation

Spurs have to win this game to close the gap to Aston Villa. A draw would be a poor result.

Postecoglou will play his usual brand of open and attacking football with little regard for clean sheets.

Arsenal Form

The Gunners have been in fine form in the league with 12 wins in 14 matches. After ending Brighton’s 12-match unbeaten home run in a 3-0 victory, they drew 2-2 at home with Bayern Munich. A poor 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa followed.

Another poor defeat came next, 1-0 away to Bayern Munich, to be eliminated from the Champions League. Mikel Arteta’s side have responded brilliantly by winning 2-0 at Wolves (outshooting their opponents 24-5) before destroying Chelsea 5-0 at home on Tuesday with 27 shots and 3.42 xG.

Arsenal Team News

Jurrien Timber is back from injury, but he may not be risked in first-team action just yet. Jorginho is battling Thomas Partey to start in the midfield holding role.

One of Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu or Oleks Zinchenko will play at left-back. Leandro Trossard is tipped to get the nod over Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing.

Arsenal Motivation

Arsenal can go five points clear with a win before Man City play Nottingham Forest on the same day. Anything but a win will feel like the death knell of their title chances.

Arteta’s side will look to dominate the game but won’t mind ceding possession in periods and using fast transitions.

Key Stats

Tottenham have lost 3 of their last 5 league matches

Tottenham have seen over 2.5 goals scored in 14 of their last 15 EPL matches

Tottenham have conceded in 22 of their last 25 matches (42 goals conceded)

Arsenal have won 12 of their last 14 EPL matches

Arsenal have failed to score in 5 of their last 8 away matches vs Spurs

Arsenal have lost 6 of their last 8 away matches vs Tottenham (all competitions)

Verdict

This is bound to be an attacking and exciting match. Spurs concede loads of goals and Arsenal have the attacking threat to win this fixture. Any of the three results are possible but so is a heavy Gunners win.

Best Bet: Arsenal win at 1.74
Value Bet: Arsenal win (-1 handicap) at 2.85
Alternate Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 2.15

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis