Preview
The North London derby is set to be the highlight of the weekend across world football.
The North London derby is a massive fixture in any circumstances, but this season it will carry particular weight as both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur look to end a testing season in style.
Both have failed to live up to expectations this season; Spurs have failed to build on their promising performances during Project Restart and still lack an identity under Jose Mourinho, while Mikel Arteta has wholly failed to find a measure of consistency with Arsenal.
Tottenham are in better form heading into this one as they’re the only team in the Premier League to have won their last three matches but can they extend that run into the derby? Tottenham will be aiming to get their first ever Premier League double over their rivals, winning the reverse fixture 2-0 back in December.
On paper, Spurs look likely to win but you can’t write off the Gunners for any reason in a fixture like this.
Form Guide: Arsenal
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.
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. As mentioned, it places a lot of pressure on their current Europa League campaign.
Form Guide: Tottenham
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.
How the Match Could Go
Draws in the North London derby are a common occurrence, with 23 draws between the pair in Premier League history. For context, only Everton and Liverpool (24) have played out more draws during the PL era.
A draw looks likely again, with neither side likely to be willing to risk too much as they look to avoid defeat.
Arsenal have to win if they’re to make a late push for a top six finish but Tottenham head into the match in good form having won their last five matches in all competitions so we expect a closely fought game at the Emirates. It would be difficult to keep Harry Kane quiet but provided Arsenal don’t make their regular mistakes, they might have a chance.
Tip: Over 2.5 Goals
The Gunners are unbeaten in their last seven at home, having won three and drawn three during that period. Tottenham have a lot of players in form at the moment, with the chief being Harry Kane. It surely means Spurs are expected to score and you can expect the Gunners will do so as well. Between both teams, we should likely see at least three goals after 90 minutes. Bet9ja have 1.84 odds, Bet365 have 1.90 and 1xbet have 1.97.
Both Teams to Score
Three out of the last five meetings between both sides have seen both teams score, the remaining two saw Spurs alone score at least two goals. Regardless of who might win this one, we’re expecting to see goals at both ends at the Emirates. Bet9ja have 1.62 odds, Bet365 have 1.70 and 1xbet have 1.75.
Double Chance
Given what is at stake for this fixture, it could be a ‘conservative’ derby but we expect someone to give in still. The factors surrounding this game points to the likelihood that there will surely be one side taking all three points at the end of the day. Bet365 have 1.30 odds, Bet9ja have 1.33 and 1xbet have 1.37.
Anytime Goal-scorer (Arsenal)
Aubameyang
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored Arsenal’s second goal of the day in each of his last two home league head-to-head home games vs ‘Spurs’. He also comes into this game with good form, having bagged a goal against Olympiacos on Thursday and one against Burnley last time out in the Premier League. If Arsenal do hope to get something off their rivals, much of their hopes rest on their Gabonese captain. Bet365 have 2.10 odds while Bet9ja have 2.50 for him to score.
Pepe
Asides Aubameyang and Lacazette, he is the next player with the most goals for the Gunners this season (8). He has been on the bench in recent games and could be given the nod today. The Ivorian has looked a positive spark of late and looks like he could be up to something whenever he’s on the ball. He is definitely worth a shout to get a goal today. Bet365 have 2.87 odds while Bet9ja have theirs at 3.50.
Anytime Goal-scorer (Tottenham)
Kane
Tottenham’s ace goal-scorer has been in red-hot form leading into the derby. Harry Kane has been firing on all cylinders of late, with goals and assists flowing so freely for the England captain. Having scored and assisted a couple each last weekend against Crystal Palace, the 27-year-old bagged another brace in midweek against Dinamo Zagreb. Poetically, he has scored more goals against his ‘former side’ Arsenal than against any other side in the Premier League. Bet365 have 1.90 odds while Bet9ja have 2.25.
Son
Son Heung-min was Kane’s partner in crime in the 2-0 win earlier this season and the South Korean has scored in each of his past two appearances against Arsenal. He has also largely impressed this season with 13 league goals to his name. If the Gunners make any silly mistake/mistakes in defence, the South Korean will be happy to pounce on them as he has done in recent games over the years. There could be value for him, given his likelihood to score. Bet365 have 2.37 odds while Bet9ja have 3.00.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
