Arsenal have been on a golden run in the league over the last 5 games, winning every single one of them. They are neck to neck against Manchester City, sitting in second spot only because of an inferior goal difference. They host cross town bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday who have been on a good run themselves, winning on 4 of their last 6 outings. However, Arsenal will need to put behind the ghost of the heavy loss suffered against Bayern Munich this week, to tame Pochettino’s men.
Team News
Arsenal
Hector Bellerin looks unlikely to make the squad for the game as he recovers from a groin injury, while Oxlade-Chamberlain (Hamstring), Ramsey (Hamstring) and Rosicky (Knee) are out of the reckoning. We could see Koscielny, who sat out of the Bayern game return to the starting line up while Arteta could also feature in the game.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham on the other hand will be without the services of Bentaleb (Ankle), Chadli (Ankle) and Fazio ( Hamstring) while striker N’Jie could return to action after recovering from a hamstring injury. We expect Pocchetino to go in with the same team that took the field against Villa last week.
Interesting Facts
This will be 171st meeting between these two teams in all competitions, with Arsenal winning on 72 occasions compared to Tottenham’s 53.
Arsenal have been beaten at home only twice by Tottenham since the inceptions of the Premier League.
Possible Line-Up
Arsenal
Cech, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin, Cazorla, Campbell, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud
Tottenham
Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Dier, Alli, Lamela, Dembele, Eriksen, Kane
Key Men
Francis Coquelin
Coquelin has put in some really good shifts in the season. He brings the bite that this Arsenal side seems to have lacked over the recent past in the middle of the park. On Sunday, he will be up against the likes of Lamela, Dier, Dembele, Alli and Eriksen who can prove to be handful to the opposition and that provides him an opportunity to add another impressive performance to his resume.
He has averaged more than 3 successful tackles and interceptions in the season and has been frequently breaking down the opposition’s moves to lend some solidarity to the Arsenal back line. He will be tasked with disrupting the rhythm of Spurs and his ability to perform the task could determine their fortunes in the game.
Dele Alli        Â
Alli has featured in 10 of the 11 league games this season and looks to be going from strength to strength with his performances. He has scored 2 goals and created 9 chances as well as contributing immensely to the side’s defence. He averages more than 3 interceptions and successful tackles per game and will need to break up the Arsenal midfield, come Sunday.
The former MK Dons midfielder has adapted really quickly to the top flight football and this will be his first taste of one of the most hotly contested derbies in England. Should he continue his ascent on a personal level, Tottenham could take the game to Arsenal.
Betting Tips
Arsenal to win is at 3/5 with Bet365
Spurs to win is at 19/4 with BetVictor
You can can get the draw at BetVictor for 17/5