Tottenham v Arsenal

North London derby with the winner taking the local bragging rights and denting the other teams ambitions. Will North London be red or white after this game?

Tottenham v Arsenal – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 17:30 CET

Team News:

Spurs are without Romero, Bergvall, Davies, Udogie, Maddison, Kulusevski, Bentancur,Porro and Kudus. Richarlison is back but this is too early for a return with fitness an issue.

Arsenal have Merino out for sure with doubts over Odegaard and Havertz.

Formations:

3-4-2-1 is new coach Igor Tudor’s preferred formation. However, he only has 2 fit central defenders so may have to fit the formation to the players available.

4-3-3 for Arsenal but at times it does resemble 4-2-3-1. Saka has been playing centrally and that may continue with his performance at Wolves he did look dangerous.

Statistics:

Referee: Peter Bankes (Average cards 3.94 Yellow 0.10 Red)

Match Preview:

Spurs have an almost entire team out injured or suspended. Crazy run of injuries plus the brain-dead red card from captain Romero led to Thomas Frank’s dismissal. New head coach Igor Tudor arrives with little fanfare and faces a daunting first assignment in the North London derby. Tottenham sit 16th in the table, holding a fragile five‑point cushion over West Ham in 18th. Their home form has been poor, with just two wins in thirteen matches, and they are winless in their last eight league games. All of this contrasts sharply with their impressive top‑eight finish in the Champions League group stage, which only adds to the puzzling nature of their domestic struggles.

Arsenal are top of the league but have just a 5-point lead over Man City (this could be 2 points by the time they kick off) Away form is good with 7 wins from 14 games. Recent run is good also with an unbeaten run of 7 games that has yielded 5 wins and 2 draws.

Betting Preview:

Arsenal have been labelled as “bottlers” after their tame 2–2 draw at Wolves, and the pressure is certainly building. Even so, they remain a top‑quality side with exceptional squad depth. A full‑strength Spurs team would already face a tough task, but with a patched‑together lineup under Premier League newcomer Igor Tudor, this challenge becomes even steeper. Backing Arsenal to win still offers solid value.