Tottenham vs Arsenal-15-01-23

Preview

The 193rd installment of the North London derby headlines Sunday’s Premier League action, as Tottenham Hotspur entertains bitter rivals and league leaders Arsenal.

The Gunners ran out convincing 3-1 winners over Antonio Conte’s sluggish side earlier in the season, but the Lilywhites tend to prove a different beast in North London derbies on their soil. North London bragging rights will be on the line on Sunday as Tottenham hosts Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. As far as fixtures go, the north London derby is one of the few showpiece occasions that always delivers on drama.

Arguably the most heated game England has to offer, it will be a huge afternoon for both sides. The Gunners were comprehensive victors in the reverse fixture back in October and now go in search of a first-league double over their fierce local rivals since 2013/14. The Premier League leaders are the strongest they’ve been in that period and will be hoping to extend their lead over Man City with a first win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. While Spurs have failed to completely convince under Antonio Conte, they thrashed their bitter rivals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in May. If things click into place, few can doubt their quality.

Form Guide: Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur, are in fifth place in the league table at the moment and has been inconsistent this season. The home side edged Portsmouth to a 1-0 victory this week and will be confident ahead of this fixture.

Conte witnessed his Tottenham side make harder work of their FA Cup win over League One side Portsmouth than they did a Premier League thumping of Crystal Palace. Three days after putting four unanswered goals past the Eagles away from home, Tottenham relied on a sweetly-struck Harry Kane effort to get them over the line against a dogged and determined Portsmouth side, setting up a fourth-round trip to Preston North End in the process.

While ending their wretched 15-year trophyless run will certainly be at the forefront of Conte’s mind, the Italian is fighting an uphill battle to make it back-to-back seasons in the Champions League for Spurs, who occupy fifth place in the table with 33 points from a possible 54 so far – two behind Manchester United having played a game more.

Form Guide: Arsenal

Arsenal is currently at the top of the Premier League standings and has been in excellent form so far this season. The Gunners eased past Oxford United by a 3-0 margin in their previous game and will look to achieve a similar result this weekend.

Continuing to defy the doubters in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah made it four goals in four games with a brace at the Kassam Stadium after Mohamed Elneny swapped his long-range bullets for a close-range header to break the deadlock, but the Gunners will now have to go through Manchester City to reach round five.

Now unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League matches, Arsenal also has five wins from their last six top-flight games on the road – including each of their last three – to write home about, and six goals conceded away from home is unsurprisingly the best defensive record of its kind in the Premier League alongside Man City and Newcastle.

Arsenal is currently at the top of the Premier League standings and has been in excellent form so far this season. The Gunners eased past Oxford United by a 3-0 margin in their previous game and will look to achieve a similar result this weekend.

How the game could go

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for Arsenal in recent times, but the underwhelming version of Conte’s side has come out to play more often that the free-flowing version during the winter period.

Arsenal has exceeded expectations so far this season and remains the frontrunner to win the Premier League title. The likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka have stepped up this season and will play key roles in this fixture.

Tottenham Hotspur has blown hot and cold this season and will need to work on their consistency. Arsenal is the better team at the moment and holds the upper hand going into this game.

It’s difficult to know what version of Tottenham will show up, while Arsenal has pretty much proven the picture of consistency this season.

Betting Predictions

Arsenal to Win

Arsenal saw a five-game winning run in the league ended by Newcastle last time out as they were held to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium, although they have since brushed Oxford aside in the FA Cup with a 3-0 victory. Mikel Arteta’s men were perhaps unlucky not to win that game but they can get back to winning ways against Spurs on Sunday, with the hosts struggling for consistency. Tottenham have won just one of their last four at home, losing to Newcastle, Liverpool, and Aston Villa, and a strong Spurs lineup labored to a 1-0 win over Portsmouth in the FA Cup last time out. Spurs look a little disjointed at times and a win for Arsenal stands out. Bet9ja have 2.24, 1xbet have 2.24 and Paripesa have 2.24 odds.

Over 2.5 goals

We’re predicting goals in this game as five of the last six competitive meetings between these two local rivals have ended with over 2.5 goals being scored. At least three goals have been scored in three of Tottenham’s last six competitive and non-competitive matches and the same can be said for four of Arsenal’s last six outings, so you can see just why we’re backing goals on Sunday. Bet9ja have 1.73 odds, Paripesa have 1.82, and 1xbet have 1.82 odds.

Anytime Goalscorer (Tottenham)

Harry Kane

Central to their hopes will be talisman Harry Kane, who is just one goal behind Jimmy Greaves on the list of the club’s all-time leading scorers and loves playing the Gunners – having scored more Premier League goals against them than any other player. We going to get a goal-laden performance from him today and we are sure about it Bet9ja have 2.65 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.35.

Son Heung Min

Many Tottenham fans would be disappointed with how South Korea’s season has been since the beginning. He hasn’t had much of an impact this season and he would be gutted as he knows he can provide more goals for his side. He can turn things around today with his good partnership with Kane upfront and we might see that today. Bet9ja have 2.95 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.50.

Anytime Goalscorer (Arsenal)

Eddie Nketiah

Eddie Nketiah is the form player in the Arsenal attack right now with four goals in as many games since the World Cup break. The 23-year-old can continue to impress in the absence of the injured Gabriel Jesus with a goal in Sunday’s derby. Not including him here in the tips would be a very unnatural move for anyone who has seen how good he is in front of the goal this season. Bet9ja have 3.25 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.10.

Bukayo Saka

He is another youngster who has had a very good season up till now. He also had a good outing with England in the World Cup and he continued it since the restart of the season. He has scored six goals this season and provided six assists too with that. He scored in consecutive fixtures just before the draw with Newcastle and was adequately rested in anticipation of this fixture. Bet9ja have 3.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.60.

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