Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium forms the backdrop for the 173rd league North London derby as eternal Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal go head-to-head this weekend.

Tottenham’s bid to leapfrog Aston Villa into fourth continues to plummet, with a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Newcastle United last time out leaving Spurs seven points adrift of the Lions. But with three games in hand, Ange Postecoglou’s men can still achieve their goal as they return to North London, where they’ve won their last three Premier League games despite conceding first in two. Spurs’ state-of-the-art stadium has been a venue of entertainment this season. Since the start of November, each of their 12 home league matches has featured over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet, highlighting the potential for an action-packed contest like one that saw Tottenham and Arsenal share the spoils in a goal-glutted 2-2 draw in September’s reverse fixture.

Aesthetics is not the first thing that springs to Mikel Arteta’s mind ahead of this short journey, considering Arsenal are close to ending their two-year title drought in the Premier League. The Gunners took advantage of Manchester City’s FA Cup duties last weekend to return to the top of the tree, opening up a slender one-point gap at the table’s summit. However, the Citizens have a game in hand, underscoring the importance of building on a scintillating 5-0 triumph against Chelsea in midweek top-flight action. Arsenal’s dominant recent record in this fixture (W4, D1, L1) suggests another derby win could be on the cards, but it’s not all rosy. Last season’s 2-0 win at this venue remains their only success on Tottenham’s home ground since September 2015 (D2, L5).