Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal: Any Nerves Ahead of the North London Derby?

by Matthew Harris · 13th January 2023

While we haven’t always been convincing in our last two games, two wins and two clean sheets is a welcome return following the horrors of the festive fixtures. Next up is a much stiffer test with a home game against the league leaders in a fixture that, as a Spurs fan, you either relish or you dread.

Arsenal are the visitors for the latest running of the North London Derby which kicks off this Sunday at 4.30pm. Our opponents have lost just once in the league during this campaign, so it’s a daunting task as we aim to inflict their second defeat.

Team News

While managers will always be quick to blame injuries, it’s true that our crowded physio room isn’t exactly helping matters right now. For Sunday’s game, as many as five first team regulars may be absent.

We’ll start with the minor issue: Yves Bissouma pulled out of the Portsmouth game after suffering an ankle problem during the warm up, but he’s expected to be available on Sunday. Elsewhere, Rodrigo Bentancur has been unavailable since the World Cup with a groin problem, but he is in with a strong chance of finally returning to the squad.

Dejan Kulusevski is back in training and rated as hopeful while Lucas Moura and Richarlison will definitely miss out. There are no suspensions to add, so things are hopefully improving as we move forward.

Match Odds

This is one of those rare games where Spurs don’t start as favourites at home and maybe that’s a blessing. Arsenal lead the way at best odds of 6/5 with 10Bet and Quinnbet while victory for Tottenham is next at 11/5 with Ladbrokes and Coral. The draw completes the match betting at a top price of 14/5 with Unibet.

While we lost 3-1 in the reverse fixture at the start of October, the sending off of Emerson didn’t help. For the second year in succession at the Emirates, one of our players saw red. Clearly if we keep 11 men on the pitch then we have a better chance. The result isn’t in our hands, and we have to grudgingly admit that they’ve improved significantly this season, but often we either switch on or just don’t turn up.

Spurs are four points and 11 places behind our opponents in the league, but what about the form guide? The gap is slightly wider over the last six league games. Sunday’s opponents have dropped just two points in that time, while Tottenham have ten points and are in eighth place in the form table.

Home advantage could even things out, but Antonio Conte’s Spurs have to be at their best to get anything out of it.

Side Markets

Harry Kane has scored four goals in four matches since the World Cup break and he will start as the favourite in the first goalscorer betting here. Harry starts at best odds of 5/1 with Unibet to open the scoring while the next option for Spurs followers is Son Heung-Min at a top price of 9/1 with Quinnbet.

For reference, anyone who did want to consider the opposition could take Eddie Nketiah at 7/1 or Gabriel Martinelli at 15/2 – both with Quinnbet.

Eddie Nketiah in 2017

Coming back to the home side and other potential Tottenham first scorers include Bryan Gil at 20/1 with Unibet, Ivan Perisic at 22/1 with Quinnbet, Ryan Sessegnon at 35/1 with Unibet and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at 40/1 with Unibet again.

Moving over to our other regular side bets and Both Teams to Score is quoted at best odds of 3/4 with Unibet. Those who would rather consider the ‘no’ selection on BTTS can currently get 5/4 with Ladbrokes and Coral.

Next up is Total Goals and a stake Over the 2.5 line is available at a top price of 13/16 with VBet. By pushing that up one stage to Over 3.5, we can get a best of 39/19 with VBet again. The alternative here may be to look at Under 2.5 goals which is quoted at best odds of 17/16 and that’s also with VBet.

We’ll finish as we always do with some suggestions from the Correct Score betting. If you’re keeping the faith then you could opt for a scoreline of Spurs 2 Arsenal 1 at 10/1 with Vbet and Quinnbet. The same outcome in favour of Sunday’s opponents is on offer at 8/1 with Unibet while the 1-1 draw can be claimed at 6/1 with BetFred and Ladbrokes.

Last Season

Last season’s corresponding fixture was definitely one to remember. If you recall, Arsenal managed to get the original game called off as they worked the Covid rules to their advantage. It was a decision that they would regret.

When the game was finally played on May 12th, Spurs were very much on a roll. Rob Holding was sent off just after the half hour mark as Son Heung-Min turned him inside out. Sonny scored just after half time and we were already 2-0 up at that stage, thanks to two goals from Harry Kane.

The final 3-0 scoreline could have been much wider. How we’d love to see a repeat on Sunday but, if it all goes wrong, watch the highlights of last season’s game to cheer yourselves up.

Rob Holding in 2018

Verdict

We like to avoid cliches like the plague but, if Spurs are anything below their best, we will be walking away from this game with nothing. We may all be waiting for our opponents to implode, but it’s not happened yet.

This probably isn’t the type of game where you want to be making bold predictions. To win it, we must be at our best and they will probably need to have an off day.

We’ll therefore finish with just two selections and they’ll be very familiar. Both Teams to Score and Over 3.5 Goals are the picks. A scruffy 1-0 home win will be enough, but it’s probably going to be an attacking 90 minutes and a case of us needing to score one more than them.