Arsenal take their unbeaten Premier League record on the short trip to Tottenham on Sunday as the Gunners head into the north London derby without key midfielders Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.
Mikel Arteta’s men start the weekend two points behind Manchester City and Liverpool following their 1-1 draw with Brighton before the international break, while Spurs will want to bounce back from their defeat to Newcastle in the match which starts at 14:00.
- OVER 3.5 GOALS
- HEUNG-MIN SON TO SCORE AT ANY TIME
- RODRIGO BENTANCUR TO BE SHOWN A CARD
Goals Likely To Be On Agenda
Many derby matches can fail to live up to the hype, but it is rare for a Spurs-Arsenal clash to disappoint and Sunday’s meeting could be another incident-packed encounter.
Tottenham are the only team to have scored against Mikel Arteta’s side in their last nine Premier League away games, and there looks a strong chance that there will be at least four goals in this upcoming clash, just as there have been in four of the last six meetings.
It is almost impossible to think that an Ange Postecoglou side will not push forward at every opportunity and Tottenham will be pushed on as they attempt to avoid a home defeat to their biggest rivals for the third successive season.
And as they produced their first home league clean sheet since October in their 4-0 win against Everton, they can usually be relied upon to provide their opponents with plenty of opportunities.
All but one of their last 16 home games have produced at least three goals and the boat could be pushed out this week in anticipation of seeing even more than that on Sunday.
OVER 3.5 GOALS
Son Expected To Make His Mark
Tottenham are hoping that record signing Dominic Solanke will be available after picking up an injury on his debut at Leicester, but Heung-min Son is still expected to be the home side’s chief goal threat.
The South Korean forward loves playing against Arsenal and has scored in seven of his last nine appearances against his team’s local rivals, including both goals in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates a year ago and another strike in the Gunners’ 3-2 win in their last clash.
The Tottenham skipper has thrived on the extra responsibility since Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich and demonstrated his eye for goal with a brace in the 4-0 win over the Toffees, so it would be no surprise if he boosted his tally.
HEUNG-MIN SON TO SCORE AT ANY TIME
Bentancur Could Fall Foul Of Referee
Midfield will be a tightly contested area in the game and Spurs will fancy they can get a grip on proceedings with Odegaard and Rice missing from the Arsenal line-up.
Tackles are likely to go flying in with players encouraged by a raucous crowd and bookings tend to be numerous - there have been 24 yellows and two reds shown in the last five derbies.
Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur should be at the heart of the action and has been booked twice already this season, so it would not be a surprise if the Uruguayan, who was cautioned seven times last term, fell foul of the referee again.
RODRIGO BENTANCUR TO BE SHOWN A CARD
