On Saturday, the twelfth round of the Premier League will start with the North London derby: Arsenal will host Tottenham Hotspur at home.
The beginning of the historical rivalry is at 14:30.
Tournament situation
Before the match, these clubs are separated by four points in the tournament table: Tottenham Hotspur with 23 points is in third place, while Arsenal with 19 points is in sixth place.
Teams' form
In the previous round, Arsenal lost 1-3 to Manchester City and suffered their second failure in the Premier League in the last four rounds. However, both of these defeats were experienced against opponents, and at home Arsene Wenger's team plays much more successfully. In this season's Premier League, the Gunners have won all five matches at their home ground.
Their opponents today celebrated a 1-0 victory in the previous round. However, in their last away game, Tottenham suffered their first defeat of the season on opponents' territory, losing 0-1 to Manchester United. They are also performing well in the Champions League, where they have collected ten points in the first four rounds and have already secured a place in the next stage of the tournament.
Team news
Olivier Giroud is expected to miss the match for Arsenal, as he was injured during the international break. However, the team can expect to see Shkodran Mustafi and Danny Welbeck, as the home team's representatives will decide on their participation before the match.
In the visiting team, we should see all three players who did not play for the England national team due to health issues - Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Harry Winks. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who missed the match against Crystal Palace, might return to the pitch, but the team will decide on his participation before the match. The same decision awaits the substitute goalkeeper Michel Vorm.
Meanwhile, Toby Alderweireld will definitely not help the team tonight: after tests, it became clear that his injury is much more serious than expected, and he will not appear on the field until the end of the year.
Predicted starting lineups:
Arsenal: Cech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil, Sanchez; Lacazette.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Dier, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Trippier, Winks, Dembele, Rose; Alli, Eriksen; Kane.
Interesting facts
Arsenal has not won the last six encounters with Tottenham Hotspur in the English leagues (4 draws, 2 losses). This is the longest streak without a win against this team in Arsenal's history in the league;
In the last 32 away matches against Arsenal in the Premier League, Tottenham has only managed two wins (13 draws, 17 losses). They won 3-1 in 1993 and celebrated a 3-2 victory in 2010;
In matches against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal has lost 37 points - more than against any other team in the league;
The Gunners have won ten consecutive Premier League matches at the Emirates Stadium. This is their longest streak of wins at this stadium;
Arsenal won their first five home matches in the Premier League for the first time since the start of the 2009-2010 season;
Counting results in all tournaments, Arsenal under Arsene Wenger has not lost at home in 16 matches in a row (14 wins, 2 draws). The last time they lost was in March, when they were beaten 1-5 by Bayern Munich;
If Arsenal loses today, it will be the second consecutive defeat for them this season;
In 2017, Arsenal has already suffered 10 defeats in the Premier League - the most in Wenger's career with the team. The last time they had more losses was in 1995 when they lost 14 matches in a year;
After finishing in the Top 6 last season, Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham team has only won one match away from home (6 draws, 9 losses). In total, they have only collected 9 points out of 48 possible;
M. Pochettino has still not lost any North London derby (2 wins, 4 draws). However, all matches at the Emirates Stadium have ended in draws;
In the calendar year, Tottenham has more wins in away matches in the Premier League (10) than any other team. They are also the most prolific team playing away this year, scoring 37 goals;
If Spurs suffer a defeat today, it will be the first time in almost a year that they have lost two consecutive away matches in the Premier League;
Harry Kane has scored in all five of his North London derbies. In total, he has scored six goals against Arsenal;
In North London derby, only two players have scored more goals than H. Kane - Emmanuel Adebayor and Robert Pires, who have scored 8 and 7 goals respectively;
If H. Kane scores two goals today, he will be the first player in Premier League history to score at least two goals in four consecutive away matches.
