Oh, how quickly things can change!
Less than a week ago, Tottenham were right in the mix for the Premier League title but back-to-back defeats to Burnley and Chelsea mean that they’re now looking over their shoulder rather than to the teams above them.
Spurs sit in third place in the league table and they’ll remain there regardless of results this weekend, but if they lose to Arsenal in the North London derby, they’ll be just one point clear of Unai Emery’s men and potentially only two points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United and just four ahead of Chelsea, who’ll have a game in hand on them.
Of course, there’s a lot of presumptions being made there but the fact that Arsenal could move to within a point of a side who were genuine league challengers just a week ago shows how quickly things can change.
Spurs and Arsenal have already met twice this season with the Gunners winning the league game 4-2 and Tottenham knocking Arsenal out of the League Cup with a 2-0 victory of their own and those who are interested in football betting will know that despite their poor run of form, Spurs are the favourites to win this weekend, mainly because they’re the home team, although how big of an advantage it is to pay at Wembley can certainly be debated.
This final meeting between the two sides has a lot riding on it in terms of the battle for the top four. Both clubs will be desperate to secure Champions League football next season and a win for either this weekend will be a huge step towards achieving that goal.
The two North London rivals currently occupy the third and fourth places in the league table, but they have an in-form Man United breathing down their necks and Chelsea aren’t far behind and dropping points this weekend will open the door for those two sides.
Harry Kane, who was released by Arsenal as a youngster, will be available to play in the Derby after it was decided that no action needed to be taken for his apparent headbutt on Cesar Azpilicueta, so the Gunners’ backline will need to keep a close eye on the England striker as he’s broken Arsenal hearts on a few occasions in the past.
