Tottenham travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Emirates Stadium as they take on Arsenal on matchday 21 of the Premier League on Wednesday, January 15th, at 20:00 UK time. The Lilywhites, who earned a hard-earned win over Tamworth in the FA Cup at the weekend, will look to secure a victory for the third match in a row in all competitions away from home to move a few places in the league standings.
The north London derby always promises to bring the fireworks and Tottenham, on hostile territory, will be looking to claim all three points against Mikel Arteta’s side to dent their title charge. Ange Postecoglou’s side also could ensure that the bragging rights were shared between the two rivals this season with a win as the Gunners beat them at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this year.
Team News
Arsenal
Arsenal will be without a number of players with Mikel Arteta dealing with various injury problems since a few weeks. Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus, Jorginho, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all expected to miss out for the home side, although fortunately from their point of view, there are no suspension problems.
Like Tottenham did at Tamworth, Arsenal also played extra time in the FA Cup versus Manchester United although they were on the losing end and will look to vent their frustration out on the Lilywhites. Jesus’ injury means Kai Havertz may lead the line as the striker, whereas Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard could both play as the wingers.
PREDICTED ARSENAL XI (4-3-3): Raya; Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Merino, Rice, Odegaard; Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli
Tottenham Hotspur
If Arsenal’s seemed lengthy, Ange Postecoglou’s headache is even worse. The Australian is set to be without Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, Fraser Forster, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Wilson Odobert. As with the Gunners, Tottenham also have no suspension issues to cope with.
As a result of 10 first team players missing out due to fitness problems, Tottenham’s starting eleven is very predictable and all eyes will once again be on Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke to deliver the goods in the offensive department. That said, Postecoglou will hope now is a good time for Son Heung-min to also turn up as he has a decent record against the team’s London rivals.
PREDICTED TOTTENHAM XI (4-3-3): Kinsky; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Sarr, Maddison, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Match-deciding duel
Declan Rice vs Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham’s game with Arsenal is one that could very possibly be decided by how the midfielders square up against one another and there are not many better players to influence the North London Derby than Declan Rice and Dejan Kulusevski. The two workhorses will contribute to good measure offensively as well as defensively, while potentially being tasked to mark one another too.
Rice has been the domineering force in the Arsenal midfield lately but it is arguable that Kulusevski has played better than the English international. Moreover, the Swedish international is the better player with the ball and when going forward, so there is every reason to think that he could be the differential man for Tottenham.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Tottenham in three-way transfer battle as Conte plans to sign Spurs target this summer
- Not Toney – Tottenham put off by €50m asking price for striker whose contract expires in less than 12 months
- Tottenham now in position to hijack Chelsea deal for Serie A ace
Prediction
Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Neither Arsenal nor Tottenham Hotspur are enjoying their best runs of form, so a draw seems like the most reasonable outcome heading into the game. The Gunners have struggled offensively while a makeshift Tottenham defence has not performed at its peak just yet and even a win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last week came largely thanks to Antonin Kinsky. They should be able to score a goal, however, as Arsenal have been vulnerable at the back too.
