Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham host North London rivals Arsenal in what will be the headline clash of Matchday Four in the Premier League.
By Kaustubh Pandey
Both sides return to action after the international break still smarting from their latest results in the league. Arsenal dropped points to Brighton a couple of weekends ago and Spurs lost to a late-ish Alexander Isak goal at Newcastle United despite putting in a decent performance in attack.
It is off-field suspensions and injuries that will certainly encourage Spurs, as Arsenal will be without the injured Martin Ødegaard and the suspended Declan Rice. Mikel Merino is also ruled out and it remains to be seen whether Riccardo Calafiori will be fully fit after picking up an injury for Italy during the international break.
Another positive for the Lilywhites is that Dominic Solanke will be back in action after an injury lay-off and he will be looking to get himself off the mark for his new club. Micky van de Ven did pick up a knock in the loss on Tyneside but he has been passed fit for the derby.
Barring that, recent history does favour Arsenal and they will take confidence from that.
Mikel Arteta‘s side have won the last two derbies at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and are unbeaten in four games against their rivals. Postecoglou is also yet to win against Arsenal but he did see his side put in a decent performance in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates last season.
One big red flag for Spurs is their transitional defending, which was a problem against Newcastle and caused many issues last season, as teams could get at them on the counterattack.
Arsenal will look at that aspect keenly, as they may cede possession to Spurs whenever they can due to the injuries and absences in the matchday squad. This could play out well for in the Gunners, who can then expose their rivals on the break.
Having said that, Spurs do typically create a lot of chances in each game – they’ve missed seven from 10 chances categorised as ‘Big Chances’ so far this season. The lack of a finishing touch has let them down, something they’ll be looking to correct in what is one of the biggest games of the campaign.
All that, though, is simply the on-paper talk and as is often the case on Derby day, things tend to happen on instinct and momentum dictates results. Both teams will likely create their fair share of chances and it will all be about who can convert the most on the day.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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