Arsenal vs Tottenham: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

It’s rarely a dull occasion when the north London rivals collide, with Arsenal welcoming Tottenham to the Emirates on Wednesday night.

We’ve seen far superior Spurs sides fail to triumph at home to their arch-rivals in the Premier League since their 3-2 victory in 2010, but Ange Postecoglou’s side must sense a vulnerability in Arsenal’s ranks ahead of this meeting.

The Gunners are struggling in the absence of Bukaya Saka and head into the derby after being beaten by Newcastle and Manchester United in two different domestic cup competitions. Their inability to capitalize on their chances has led to their recent downfall, and they must find a solution in the January transfer window to restart their season.

Defeat here might just end theirs Premier League title of hope.

A string of injuries have undermined Tottenham’s campaign, but they remain strong in three cup competitions. He wins Liverpool and Tamworth, even if they took too long to get the job done on Sunday, means the mood in Ange’s camp is great and they can play without inhibitions on Wednesday given they are playing for very little in the Premier League.

A barren run in the competition means they are currently 12th in the table – 16 points behind Arsenal.

Here 90 minutes guide to Wednesday’s North London Derby.

Arsenal vs Tottenham H2H results (last five matches)

Current form (all competitions)

Arsenal’s injury problems worsened at the weekend, with Gabriel Jesus tears his ACL during the FA Cup defeat against Man Utd.

Riccardo Calafiori is uncertain after missing Sunday’s Cup with a muscle injury. Myles Lewis-Skelly will be used at left-back if the Italian international is not fit. Jorginho and Jurrien Timber also had to play against United, and both are expected to be fit for the visit of Spurs.

The hosts are still without Bukaya Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Arsenal predicted the line-up against Tottenham (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli.

The Spurs squad appear to have survived Tamworth’s frozen 4G pitch, although Postecoglou still has a string of absences to deal with.

The Australian coach could welcome Richarlison and Ben Davies back into the squad for Wednesday’s game, but Tottenham are still without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicari, Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogia.

Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a concussion last week A 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and shouldn’t be sidelined for too long after they missed out on Sunday’s cup win.

Antonin Kinski’s third start for the club will be in the North London Derby. The young Czech goalkeeper has shown nothing but assurance between the sticks so far.

Predicted line-up of Tottenham against Arsenal (4-3-3): Kinsky; Porro, Dragushin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son.

Arsenal’s ineffectiveness in front of goal can no longer be seen as the Gunners being on the wrong end of some bad luck. It’s a matter of skill. They lacked a ‘killer’ in the final third, especially without Saka.

However, they continue to maintain impressive control of games and should have success against Tottenham’s build-up here given the visitors’ numerous defensive injuries. The Spurs, however, showed signs of growth as a unit with several key pieces absent, and Kinsky almost immediately bolstered the backline.

We may not be prone to thrills and spills here, but there could be late drama in a tight Emirates draw.

Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham

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