The North London derby Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal closes the 22nd matchday in the Premier League. Here, the sixth-placed side faces the fifth-placed one in front of a home crowd. The opponents took 33 and 35 points respectively. But the Spurs played 18 league games and so two less than the Gunners.
Both teams competed in the Carabao Cup this week. Tottenham lost 1-0 at home to second-placed Chelsea on Wednesday. In the EPL, Antonio Conte’s team on 1 January won 1-0 at Watford and thus recorded their fifth victory in seven appearances. However, the Spurs competed almost exclusively against teams from the second half of the table.
Arsenal started the new year with a 2-1 home defeat against leaders Manchester City. This snapped a streak of four league wins in a row. However, something similar applied to Mikel Arteta’s squad as it did to their upcoming opponents. They competed mainly against opponents ranked below the top 10. Moreover, the Gunners must do without considerably more men than the Spurs. The list lengthened on Thursday in a 0-0 away draw with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. Chris Kavanagh directs this top match.
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What speaks for Tottenham Hotspur?
- The better form curve in the Premier League
- Have one more day at their disposal
- Definitely fewer absences to cope with
- Play in front of their home crowd
What speaks for Arsenal?
- Can only surprise currently
- North London derbies always give extra motivation
Our betting tip:
- Tip: Both teams score a goal – Yes
- Bookmaker: 1xBet
- Odds: 1.77
Expert analysis Tottenham Hotspur
For Tottenham Hotspur, the North London derby against Arsenal comes four days after their Carabao Cup second leg against Chelsea. The 0-1 home defeat to the Blues also meant their elimination from the tournament. On aggregate, Conte was beaten 0-3 by his former club. However, the Italian changed the starting line-up in several positions and replaced for example Hugo Lloris with Paolo Gollini in the second leg.
In the Premier League, Spurs last lost at the end of October. A 0-3 home defeat against Manchester United was the nail in the coffin for Conte’s predecessor, Nuno Espírito Santo. In the 52-year-old’s first appearance on the sidelines, they went into the most recent international break with a 0-0 at Everton.
Immediately afterwards, the first of five victories in seven league games came at home against Leeds United. However, in their only appearance against a team ranked in the top half of the table, Liverpool, they drew 2-2 at home. A 3-0 to Crystal Palace in their last EPL appearance at home so far was followed by a 1-1 at Southampton and 1-0 at Watford.
Conte spoke on Friday of a difficult situation ahead of the Tottenham vs. Arsenal clash, but in truth he must do without comparatively few players. More specifically, Cristiano Romero, Eric Dier and Son Heung-min are absent. Furthermore, Steven Bergwijn is in doubt, but he does not really play a role in the Italian’s plans.
Expert analysis Arsenal
Arsenal coach Arteta would like to have Conte’s worries. Because: The 39-year-old Spaniard already had to cope without numerous players before Thursday’s 0-0 draw at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. Then he had to see Granit Xhaka receive a red card at Anfield Road. That means the Swiss, who only just overcame a COVID-19 infection, is suspended for the North London derby at the Spurs. Furthermore, Cedric Soares suffered an injury in the appearance at the Reds and is now in doubt.
Soon Arteta, who is hoping for a postponement of the Tottenham vs. Arsenal clash, can count on the available players with his fingers. Thomas Partey, Nicolas Pépé, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mohamed Elneny are in Cameroon for the Africa Cup. Moreover, Martin Ødegaard is out due to a COVID-19 infection. And Emile Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu both suffer injuries.
These difficulties also reflected in a 0-1 away defeat to Championship ninth-placed Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on 9 January. Eight days earlier, a 1-2 home defeat to Manchester City ended a four-match winning streak in the Premier League. However, the Gunners in West Ham United faced only a side on a par with them. After a 2-0 home win against their city rivals, they first won 4-1 at Leeds and 5-0 at Norwich.
Head-to-head comparison Tottenham – Arsenal
The first North London derby, Tottenham vs. Arsenal in the 2021/2022 Premier League took place on 26 September. Here, the Spurs, then with Nuno Espírito Santo on the sidelines, lost 1-3. In the past season, both clashes ended with home victories. Tottenham recorded against Arsenal a 2-0 and a 1-2.
Our betting tip and the best odds
Tottenham Hotspur have the better form curve in the Premier League and won five of their last seven league games so far. The other side of the coin is that Conte’s team mainly competed against definitely weaker opponents. Indeed, it is most probably no coincidence that in the last six games, only those against two of the strongest opponents saw both teams score goals.
The same reasoning applies more or less to Arsenal. True, the four Africa Cup participants flew to their teams afterwards, but the 1-2 against Manchester was the second time in five league matches that both teams scored. And the fact that the Gunners conceded one goal against Leeds United speaks even more in favour of goals on both sides.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal – betting tip: Both teams score goals – Yes, odds 1.77 at bookmaker 1xBet.
