Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal
Date: 06/12/2020
K/O: 16:30
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Referee: Martin Atkinson
TV: Sky Sports
Tottenham head into their second London derby in a row on Sunday, hosting bitter rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
Tottenham became the league leaders for the second week running after a 0-0 draw against Chelsea last weekend. The match was a complete bore relative to some of the two London clubs’ previous meetings in recent years, but Mourinho has been grinding out results in trademark fashion and the Chelsea game was no exception – Chelsea are often tough opponents for Spurs but didn’t cause them much trouble last weekend.
With this in mind, although anything can happen in a North London Derby, Spurs will be going into it perhaps more confidently this season. Not only because of their own high spirits, but also the fact that Arsenal have truly been struggling and as such sit in 14th position. Mourinho was pleased with his players’ unhappy reactions after the Chelsea draw, seemingly because it is indicative of a change of mentality at the club – the players have a hunger that may not have been present one year ago.
As touched upon, a Tottenham versus Arsenal scoreline is often irrespective of either team’s recent results. Current form sometimes goes out the window and is replaced by a fierce desire to crush the opposition’s plans, while avoiding embarrassment at the hands of the enemy. Spurs’ mindset has been much improved this year, so Mourinho will hope that his players continue to have their head in the game – Tottenham are much the favourites in the upcoming fixture.
Arsenal’s troubles continued in their last fixture after Wolves emerged victorious with a 2-1 win. Wolves were much the better team, despite spending most of the match fearing for their teammate Raul Jiminez, who’s head collided at blood-curdling speed with David Luiz’s in the air early on in the game. It was later declared that Jiminez had fractured his skull, while David Luiz was bandaged up and sent back out to play until half time. This sparked fury among spectators, who feared for David Luiz’s safety having just come out of such a heavy knock.
Nevertheless, with or without David Luiz this weekend, Arsenal are in danger of slipping into the bottom five of the table if they lose their sixth game of the season on Sunday. The lack of goals at Arsenal has been severe given they have the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette in the squad, neither of which have been anything near potent this season. Aubameyang in particular has been so impressive for Arsenal but something this season has completely upturned the Gabonese’s fortunes.
To compound this, Arsenal have not beaten Tottenham in over two years, and as such the fans will be hoping to restore some head-to-head glory when the sides meet on Sunday. However, with Spurs looking much more tactically sound, especially in defence, Arteta will need to come up with a solid plan to get past the defence – likely a plan that deviates drastically from what has been deployed so far this season.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane reportedly missed training in midweek, as did fellow striker Vinicius. However, given Mourinho’s “mind games” this season, we should not expect Kane to be out of action this weekend. The same can probably be said for Reguilon, who also missed training.
Mourinho initially suspected that Toby Alderweireld’s groin injury would be fairly major, but the Belgian has already returned to training so the problem is likely not as bad as initially feared. However, Rodon has impressed so may be in place instead of Alderweireld this weekend.
Erik Lamela will not be fit for the match with ongoing injuries.
Arsenal
David Luiz was on the better end of his collision with Jiminez last week so should be fit enough to play on Sunday. Meanwhile, Calum Chambers could be set for a return to the squad, perhaps off the bench, having almost missed a year of senior action with a knee injury.
Pablo Mari had been unavailable since June but has recently partaken in an under-23 match, while Thomas Partey continues rehab after a thigh injury picked up in early November.
Gabriel Martinelli is out for at least the rest of 2020, while Nicolas Pepe sits out his second of a three-match suspension.
Predicted Starting XIs
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Reguilon, Dier, Rodon, Aurier; Hojbjerg, Sissoko; Bergwijn, Ndombele, Son; Kane
Arsenal (3-4-3): Leno; Tierney, Gabriel, Holding; Saka, Xhaka, Elneny, Bellerin; Aubameyang, Lacazette, Willian
Score prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3 Arsenal 1
Although Spurs’ defence has looked extremely solid recently, it can often go out the window in a North London Derby, so Arsenal could steal a sneaky goal. However, Tottenham are still favourites to win comfortably.
