Tottenham vs. Arsenal – Betting Tips and Premier League Preview

The North-London Derby is one of the most anticipated games of the season, and this time it’s going to be even more interesting due to the positions of both clubs. After their loss against Burnley, Tottenham needed to avoid defeat against Chelsea, but after losing that game as well, Spurs are only four points in front of their rivals Arsenal and five points away from fifth place. After being shortly involved in the title race for a few gameweeks, Tottenham now have to ensure that they don’t lose out on Champions League qualification. If the hosts lose here, it could be the start of another crisis for them.

Arsenal have lost only once in their previous five league games and that was away from home to Manchester City. The Gunners are impressing with their form at the moment and are serious contenders for the top four. In fact, they are currently fourth at the moment, although they have a game in hand over Chelsea. In the last round, Arsenal demolished Bournemouth 5-1 and showed that they are ready to face their rivals in the North-London Derby on Saturday.

Team News

Eric Dier has missed some of the previous games for Tottenham and will probably sit out here as well because he is still recovering from tonsillitis. Dele Alli was hugely missed against Chelsea and the English international isn’t looking likely to be fit in time against Arsenal. Vincent Janssen won’t feature as well, while Jan Verthongen is more likely to play after he recovered from a hip injury. His involvement could mean that Spurs switch to a back three, or he could simply replace Sanchez in the starting eleven. Kieran Trippier didn’t have a great game against Chelsea and will probably be replaced by Serge Aurier. Danny Rose will also likely come in for Ben Davies at left-back.

Rob Holding, Danny Welbeck, and Hector Bellerin have been injured for quite a while and aren’t available for selection. Kolasinac was substituted in the match against Bournemouth due to a muscle injury, but he could still make it in time for Spurs. Stephan Lichtsteiner nor Ainsley Maitland-Niles still aren’t 100% fit to play, so it looks like Carl Jenkinson will start once again if neither of them can’t feature. Unai Emery managed to give a rest to key players such as Aaron Ramsey, Shkodran Mustafi, and Alexandre Lacazette, so we will probably see them start this match.

Prediction

Derbies are always difficult to predict due to pressure and motivation. Tottenham couldn’t handle Chelsea and looked very agitated towards the end of the game. This isn’t the first time that they’ve reacted that way after a defeat in a crucial game, which could mean mentality problems. Still, Tottenham are a decent side at home and Arsenal certainly aren’t at their best when playing away. If we take a look at the last four times these two sides met in the league, we can notice that the home team has always been victorious. The only exception to this is the EFL Cup match when Tottenham won at the Emirates. The odds for a Tottenham win look good, but I’m not sure that they have it in them after what we saw in the previous two games. A defeat would be an unwanted outcome for both teams, so a draw seems like a good bet at Betfair.