Saturday 10th February 2018 Kick off 1230hrs Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal Football – England – Premier League The North London Derby is one of the biggest fixtures of the English football calendar and is one to look forward to no matter what. The next instalment of the game has a little extra added to it as it will be played at Wembley which should enhance the occasion for all. In terms of what it means on the park, Spurs have a four point lead over Arsenal but both sit outside the top four and the Champions League placings. It means that there is little margin for error for the two clubs as they strive to play in European’s top club competition next season, as well as having the bragging rights locally.
Tottenham have been very good in the second half of the season under Maurico Pochettino and there is no reason to suggest that it will not be the case once again. One defeat in their last 16 games in all competitions is exactly the type of form we have come to expect from Spurs but as it stands, it is still not good enough to make their way into the top four – which is ultimately their aim. Last Sunday’s game with Liverpool was one of the matches of the season and despite dominating for large spells, they required a last minute penalty to rescue a point. It could have been so different had Harry Kane converted an earlier penalty but considering how good the striker has been for Tottenham over the years, he is excused any blame. Spurs negotiated their FA Cup replay with a minimum of fuss on Wednesday but the majority of their star players were rested with a view to Saturday’s game. Pochettino knows that a win will take them above Chelsea and Liverpool – who both play on Sunday – which is the perfect incentive…if they needed any further incentive to win a match with Arsenal, of course.
Arsenal supporters must be tearing their hair out and what’s left of it will be greying much quicker than it should be. Having previewed last Saturday’s home game with Everton, it was just coming off the back of a humbling 3-1 defeat away to Swansea and their season looking in disarray with little hope for the future. Fast forward to full time against Everton and there appears to be plenty of potential with a group of players who produced some scintillating football in a 5-1 win over the Toffees. Aaron Ramsey notched a hat-trick but the home debuts of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were just as positive and suggests there is plenty of life after Alexis Sanchez. For all those positives, what chance do we give this Arsenal team of backing the performance and result up away from home in what will be a high pressure encounter? It remains to be seen but if you were an Arsenal supporter then you’d fancy your chances much more if it was at the Emirates. Only Manchester City have accumulated more points at home in the Premier League this season than the Gunners, whereas their three away wins is the joint lowest of all the clubs in the top nine.
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal Betting Tip
Saturday’s North London Derby is shaping up to be a defining factor in the season of both Tottenham and Arsenal. A home win would see the gap between the two increase to seven whilst a victory for the visitors narrows the gap to one. It’s approaching the business end of the season and we know that momentum so often plays its part, so if there is a winner in this one it will give the victors a real edge with the games coming thick and fast. Tottenham are looking for revenge, of course, having lost 2-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates back in November. That was a well deserved win for Arsene Wenger and his players despite being somewhat of a surprise.
The biggest question surrounding this game will be what Arsenal turns up. We know they are much more comfortable when playing at home but they have produced some resolute displays on their travels this season, albeit rarely. Two clean sheets away to Chelsea illustrate that they can produce results on the road and it’s likely that sort of performance is needed to get something from Saturday’s game. The biggest threat standing in their way comes in the shape of the Premier League’s top scorer, Kane. With 22 goals already to his name in the league, Kane goes from strength to strength. Arsenal may have a couple of exciting new recruits but this game may be slightly early in their Arsenal careers, where as Kane has been there and done it and that could prove a deciding factor in the early afternoon kick off on Saturday.
Tottenham 21/20 @ Betway
