Tottenham Hotspur will be visiting the backyard of their rivals Arsenal this Sunday and will hope to have an improved performance in the match where the stakes will be sky high. After having a perfect start to their Premier League campaign, Spurs have failed terribly to retain that form. It has been overburdened with their midweek defeats in the English League Cup to Liverpool and in the UEFA Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal are currently second in the Premier League table, level with leaders Manchester City at 23 points. Tottenham Hotspur, in comparison, sits in the 5th position with 20 points. Their last 3 Premier League matches have ended in a draw with critics stating it because of their attack, which is lacking sharpness.
Things could turn around for Spurs from this game as their North London rivals have not won in their last 5 Premier League derbies. Mauricio Pochettino has not lost in his last 4 north London derbies. The team scoring first in this fixture has surprisingly failed to win the match on 23 occasions.
Defence
Pochettino has no option but to all out against Arsenal despite having two of his key defenders on 4 yellow cards. Both Jan Veronghen and Danny Rose have seen 4 yellow cards and another mistake will see them suspended for their next fixture against West Ham United. Pochettino will be without his inform defender Toby Alderweireld due to injury.
Spurs had Ben Davies playing on the left defensive flank in their midweek game against Leverkusen, which indicates Pochettino would want a fully fit Danny Rose to take the left flank. He will have the responsibility to stop the likes of Ramsey, Bellerin and Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Pochettino’s rest of the back line featured in the Champions League clash and came out unscathed much to the relief of the manager. With Alderweireld out, Eric Dier will start in the middle with Vertonghen. Walkers have always showed brilliant displays against Arsenal and he will be taking on Alexis Sanchez.
Midfield
Spurs probably have the two most defensive midfielders in Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele. The duo has been one of the most eye-catching performers in the league and Pochettino will expect the pair to stop any kind of Arsenal threat before it builds up.
The front three for Spurs have been Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Eric Lamela. With Lamela rested during the midweek, he is expected to start again with Sissoko on the bench.
Attack
One of the biggest problems for Spurs have been their forward position. After Janssen failing to make any impact Pochettino has now opted for Heung-Min Son. But neither of them have been of any effect, which explains their lacklustre performance.
