A significant weekend of Premier League action is headlined on Sunday by the North London derby as Tottenham Hotspur host bitter rivals Arsenal.
Two thousand supporters will be back in the stadium for the contest and they will hope to see their top-of-the-table Spurs side inflict more misery on their out-of-form neighbours.
The Gunners have enough of their own problems to focus on at the moment, though, and the Arsenal supporters may be dreading Sunday’s short trip to Tottenham more than they have any other North London derby in recent times.
Some of those supporters were back in the ground to watch Arsenal run out 4-1 winners over Rapid Vienna at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night as their convincing passage through the Europa League group stages continued, cruising past the Austrian runners-up while Spurs were struggling against a team that finished fourth in the same division last season.
That European form is in stark contrast to their Premier League form, though, and Mikel Arteta’s side come into this match having won just one of their last six top-flight outings, losing four.
Defeat against Wolves last weekend was a third on the bounce at home and, while they have actually fared better on the road so far this season, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one of the last places they will want to go right now.
Arteta may actually think the opposite; their only league win in the last two months came away to Manchester United and he may hope that a North London derby is the perfect fixture to snap his side out of their current malaise.
Spurs fans could not have picked a better game than the North London derby for which to make their return to the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – not only due to the magnitude of the match, but also due to the contrasting form of both sides.
Only 2,000 of the 62,303 seats will be filled, but those lucky enough to have tickets will be expecting to see their side come away with bragging rights against an Arsenal side in abject league form.
Tottenham’s own form is quite the opposite, with Jose Mourinho’s men currently enjoying the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, having not lost since the opening day.
That has seen Spurs rise to the top of the table, above champions Liverpool on goal difference heading into the weekend, and another win on Sunday would see them pass the latest test of their title credentials.
Four points from their last two league games against Manchester City and Chelsea suggests that they may be capable of seriously challenging for a first title since 1961 this season, but the big games do not stop there.
Spurs form (all competitions): WWWWDD
Arsenal form (all competitions): WLDWLW
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Son, Ndombele, Bergwijn; Kane
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Bellerin, Ceballos, Elneny, Saka; Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang
