Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal will play their latest North London derby in the Premier League on Sunday after both teams’ fortunes in the EFL Cup differed this week with a kickoff at 7:30 pm.
Arsenal held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their semi-final clash, while Antonio Conte’s side suffered a 3-0 aggregate defeat against Chelsea in the competition’s semi-finals.
Tottenham Hotspur was denied a first trophy in 13 years by Chelsea at the end of last season, as the then-defending Premier League champions followed up a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge. This is with a 1-0 success at White Hart Lane during the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.
Antonio Rudiger headed home the game’s only goal after Pierluigi Gollini tried and failed to meet Mason Mount’s corner kick. Still, the Blues have no time to dwell on that result as Antonio Conte seeks a quick response in the North London derby.
On Wednesday, Arsenal lost to Liverpool in midweek with an Arsenal side already missing several key players lose Cedric Soares to injury after 10 minutes and then witness Granit Xhaka getting his fifth red card in Gunners colors before the 25th minute.
But Mikel Arteta’s ten men frustrated Liverpool with a superb defensive display to leave next week’s second leg all to play for, with Buki Saka and Takumi Minamino each spurning potentially match-winning opportunities on the night.
Tottenham vs. Arsenal Head to Head
Both sides have 42 games against each other, with hosts taking 12 wins while opponents with 16 wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea
- Tottenham 3-1 Morecambe
- Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
- Watford 0-1 Tottenham
- Southampton 1-1 Tottenham
Away
- Liverpool 0-0 Arsenal
- Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal
- Arsenal 1-2 Man City
- Norwich City 0-5 Arsenal
- Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland
Tottenham Team News
Spurs will be without two key players, Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero, for the derby. Manager Antonio Conte has also ruled Eric Dier out of contention due to a muscular issue.
The club’s hosting manager says that another unnamed coronavirus case will keep one player out of Sunday’s game, but Sergio Reguilon is expected to be healthy enough to play. Steven Bergwijn should be able to suit up as a substitute.
Arsenal Team News
For Arsenal, Granit Xhaka will serve the first of a two-game ban incurred at Liverpool. Still, five other Gunners—Nicolas Pepe, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang—are competing at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Prediction and Odds
Form goes out of the window in the North London Derby, but injuries might do the Gunners bad.
- Tottenham Win
- Goals Under 3.5
- Most Goals: 2H
