The Big Match: Tottenham v Arsenal odds, form, stats and prediction

Premier League: Tottenham v Arsenal

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 4.30pm Sunday

Match odds

6-4 Tottenham, 9-5 Arsenal, 5-2 draw.

Form

The doom and gloom merchants were out in force when Arsenal lost successive matches after the restart away to Manchester City and Brighton, but the Gunners have responded well to those setbacks.

Wins over Southampton, Norwich and, more impressively, at Wolves really steadied the ship and they were unfortunate not to take maximum points from Tuesday's 1-1 draw against Leicester.

Substitute Eddie Nketiah's red card did not help the cause late on against the Foxes but any lingering Champions League qualification hopes probably ended when Jamie Vardy pounced to snatch a point.

Tottenham, who played Bournemouth on Thursday, will have had 48 hours fewer to prepare for the north London derby, but Jose Mourinho opened up the fighting talk ahead of his first clash against the old enemy as Tottenham boss.

"We will be waiting for them," said Mourinho having been angered by a Facebook post from Arsenal's official account seeming to mock Spurs for their recent Premier League loss at Sheffield United.

Team news

Eric Dier is suspended for the hosts and Dele Alli is doubtful. Juan Foyth and Japhet Tanganga are still absentees.

Nketiah misses out due to his ban and joins Calum Chambers, Bernd Leno, Gabriel Martinelli and Pablo Mari on the sidelines. It remains to be seen whether Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi will remain in Mikel Arteta's bad books or return to the squad.

The tactical battle

A feature of Arsenal's recent games - apart from switching to a back three - is just how little interest Arteta, a pupil of Pep Guardiola's coaching philosophy, has shown in possession.

The Gunners had 37.5 per cent against Leicester and also had less of the ball than Southampton and Wolves in the recent 2-0 away wins. Even at home to Norwich the figure was a shade under 52 per cent.

Instead, Arsenal are looking to spring counters through the passing of Dani Ceballos through to speedy wide outlets Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka.

However, when Tottenham faced a similar threat at home to Manchester United they simply sat off and allowed no space in behind with only 39 per cent of possession.

Verdict

Arsenal are on the rise but that is reflected in the odds and they may have to settle for a point on their first trip to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With no fans inside to demand that Spurs attack they could play almost like an away side which may lead to a stalemate, just as it did against United last month. Draw 1-1.

Key stats

• Six of the last 11 north London Premier League derbies have finished in draws
• Harry Kane has scored ten goals against Arsenal with a minutes per goal average of 99
• Arsenal have won only three of 16 matches against fellow top-half Premier League outfits this season
• Granit Xhaka has been booked in five of his last six matches against Spurs and in each of the last four meetings.

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