TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS. ARSENAL - PREDICTED STARTING XIS

The stage is set for the North London Derby this weekend, which will see bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal battle it out in the Premier League. Players will be returning from the international break and diving straight into what could well be one of the highlights of the season, and a strong result is paramount for either side.

Ange Postecoglou's men arrive into preparations for the match hoping to amend a rocky start to the campaign, having recorded just a single win and a draw in their opening three fixtures. On the other hand, Arsenal charged through their first two league ties against Wolves and Aston Villa, but a controversial red card decision for Declan Rice on their third matchday ultimately resulted in a stalemate.

It's tough to imagine a single draw being detrimental to their prospective title challenge, but amid a plethora of availability issues ahead of a busy schedule coupled with flawless recent performances from Manchester City and Liverpool, there is a sense that failure to get a result this weekend could risk puncturing their title ambitions. Ultimately, major bragging rights are also at stake here, alongside all else, and with just a few days until the clash, here is all the team news and possible selections for Tottenham vs Arsenal.

Spurs Team News

Returns possible for Solanke and Van de Ven

Much of Spurs' performance woes this season could be brought partially down to a select few first-team unavailabilities. New signing Dominic Solanke incurred an ankle injury on his debut against Leicester City, and he subsequently missed his side's following two fixtures. The setback may not be major, however, as speaking prior to the Newcastle United tie, Postecoglou revealed that the 26-year-old was "close" to a return but was excluded because of caution. An international break has passed, which could imply that he may be back in contention to start.

Similarly, Micky van de Ven also missed his side's third fixture against Newcastle, but Postecoglou revealed that the injury was "nothing serious". Still, the Dutchman did not travel for international duty, which should deem him fresh and ready for the North London derby.

Speaking ahead of the derby, Postecoglou was confident about van de Ven and Solanke making a return to action. He said: "Micky [Van de Ven] is all good, he's trained fully over the international break. Dom [Solanke] is back with the first team, training today so again, we've got training tomorrow, if they get through alright, I guess they'll be available."

In contrast to the aforementioned two, Richarlison remains sidelined after an injury in training kept him out of the trip to St James' Park. Postecoglou indicates that a return could be possible later in September, but an appearance from the Brazilian against Arsenal is highly unlikely. A recent injury update revealed that Mali international, Yves Bissouma limped off due to an injury while on international break, and while the extent of the injury remains unknown, it would be a massive blow for Spurs ahead of an important match.

Spurs Predicted XI

Solanke in but Bissouma to miss out

With just Richarlison and potentially Bissouma expected to miss out, Postecoglou could have a stronger squad at his disposal, compared to his rival manager, and there's little doubt he doesn't field his absolute best players in such a high stakes fixture if possible.

Gugliermo Vicario should start between the sticks, as usual, with a defense of Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro in front of him.

A midfield trio of Rodrigo Bentancur in place of Bissouma, Malang Sarr and James Maddison should cause problems for Arsenal and a front three consisting of Dejan Kulusevski, Heung-min Son and Dominic Solanke is likely as good as it gets for Spurs.

Arsenal Team News

Availability crisis at the Emirates

Declan Rice saw red last time out at the Emirates, against Brighton, which means he will not be involved in the upcoming derby, which in itself was a serious blow to Mikel Arteta's team selection. Newly-signed Mikel Merino is yet to experience life in an Arsenal matchday squad, after a shoulder injury in his first training session ruled him out for a few weeks, and he remains unavailable as well.

Joining the midfield duo in the treatment room will be Martin Odegaard who went down in pain whilst on international duty with Norway. He entered his plane back to London on crutches, which is far from what Arsenal fans will be wanting to hear, and the skipper misses out this weekend.

Arteta gave this update on his captain's fitness: "We need some more tests so let’s see what happens in the next day or so, this afternoon probably, and see what happens, what the extent of the injury is and how quickly we can get him back. He’s super positive about everything.

"We know Martin - he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see."

Elsewhere in defense, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are both yet to feature for Arsenal this season, and are likely to miss out. Riccardo Calafiori recently suffered a setback after colliding with Ousmane Dembele in the Nations League, and he has returned to the club for evaluation, though given his lack of experience with the squad, it is unlikely he is pushed to start anyway. In attack, Gabriel Jesus missed the last two fixtures, but he could be in line to make a return this weekend.

Arsenal predicted XI

Arteta forced to re-think team selection

The back half of the Arsenal XI should not see much change, given most of the injuries to the defensive department are among those who likely wouldn't start regardless. David Raya should be set up behind Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Ben White as expected.

However, in midfield, it's a different situation entirely. Having played every minute so far, Thomas Partey should take his spot in the midfield, and Kai Havertz could be asked to drift down from his usual center-forward role to support the physicality in midfield. For the third slot, it's likely Arteta will turn to his experienced minds and pick Jorginho - this double pivot with the Italian alongside Partey should at least shore up some of the structure in the absence of Rice.

With this makeshift midfield setup, Arsenal will need all the threat they can find in the frontline. Bukayo Saka should assume his role on the right flank, ideally with Gabriel Jesus down the middle. That would effectively leave Gabriel Martinelli on the left flank, but the 23-year-old has seemingly been stuck in a form slump for quite some time now. Instead, Arteta may opt with newcomer, Raheem Sterling, who sealed a deadline-day loan switch from Chelsea. The Englishman has a point to prove, and it is difficult to imagine many scenarios in which his energy and experience would be more useful to the team. As such, he could be in line for his first start in an Arsenal shirt this weekend.

2024-09-12T01:46:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd