English Premier
2019-03-02 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 2nd March 2019 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
Going into the fixture at Turf Moor last weekend Tottenham Hotspur were very much in the Premier League title mix, but most would have expected them to fall short of both Liverpool and Manchester City. However Tottenham Hotspur have done it in the most 'Spursy' of ways by losing consecutive Premier League games over the past eight days and they now face Arsenal in the North London derby under pressure to arrest their slump.
A defeat at Stamford Bridge is not unfamiliar for Tottenham Hotspur fans over the last thirty years, but it is a result which means they are almost certainly out of the Premier League title race and instead worried about the teams behind them chasing top four positions. At the moment Tottenham Hotspur are 3rd in the Premier League table, but they are now just 7 points clear of Chelsea in 6th who also have a game in hand. The side have a 9-0-4 record at Wembley Stadium in the Premier League where they have scored 24 goals and conceded 12.
Tottenham Hotspur have not drawn any of their last 18 games in all competitions and they have won 12 of those and lost 6 with back to back defeats over the last week. At least they get a chance to return to Wembley Stadium this weekend where they have won their last 4 games in all competitions since a 0-1 defeat to Manchester United in January.
Jan Vertonghen and Dele Alli are doubts for this one with the former more likely to make the squad than the latter who should return in the coming week. Eric Dier is expected to be ruled out for another fixture with his tonsillitis issue.
Arsenal
Some Arsenal fans need a reality check as to what to expect from Unai Emery in his first year as manager of the club as they can't decide whether he is doing a good or a bad job. In my personal opinion Emery is overachieving by having Arsenal in the race for a top four finish, but all the fans may begin to get behind the manager if he is to oversee the Premier League double over Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
A couple of strong home wins in the Premier League have moved Arsenal into 4th place ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea and they find themselves just 4 points behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The home form has been very important for Arsenal who have a 5-3-5 record on their travels in the Premier League where they have scored 25 goals and conceded 26.
Arsenal have won 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions since the 3-1 loss at Manchester City, although that defeat was a very disappointing one at BATE Borisov in the Europa League. Ultimately it didn't matter as Arsenal comfortably overcame the 1-0 deficit in the Second Leg, but it is part of a poor trend where Arsenal have lost 5 of their last 9 away games in all competitions. During that run Arsenal have only won at Blackpool of League One and Huddersfield Town.
Laurent Koscielny is a doubt for this fixture, but Sead Kolasinac should be available after being taken off 57 minutes into the 5-1 win over Bournemouth on Wednesday. Stefan Lichtsteiner is hoping to be passed fit too.
Head to Head
Arsenal came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League in December, but it was Tottenham Hotspur who won at the same ground in the League Cup Quarter Final later that month.
Tottenham Hotspur are unbeaten in the last 4 North London derby games hosted by them including a 1-0 win over Arsenal here at Wembley Stadium last season. Spurs have won 3 of their last 4 home North London derbies.
Prediction
The opening Premier League game of the weekend comes from the national Stadium as Tottenham Hotspur look to bounce back from two very poor defeats over the last eight days.
Every time they have gotten into a position to be back in the Premier League title talk Tottenham Hotspur have either not coped with the pressure or not had a bit of fortune on their side, but the narrative has to be getting boring for the fans, players and management.
The defeats at Turf Moor and Stamford Bridge have been compounded by the fact that the three teams immediately below them in the Premier League table have all picked up big points. It means Tottenham Hotspur are no longer looking up at the title race, but instead could be worrying they are being dragged into a battle for the top four places and a defeat on Saturday will really put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Arsenal will believe they can win here having put 3 wins in a row together since the embarrassing 1-0 defeat in Borisov in the Europa League. The Gunners have been firing in front of goal with 10 goals scored in those 3 wins, but all have come at the Emirates Stadium and you can't just ignore how poorly they have played on their travels.
In fact Arsenal have lost 5 of their last 9 away games in all competitions and the only two wins in that time have come against Blackpool and Huddersfield Town. They've been beaten handily by both Liverpool and Manchester City which means Arsenal have lost 3 of their 4 away games at the other top six clubs this season with this one concluding those fixtures.
Tottenham Hotspur have also won 3 of their last 4 North London derbies they have hosted and I think they are about as healthy as they could have hoped for ahead of this one. I do think Arsenal will pose problems on the counter attack with the quality they have in the final third, but defensively Arsenal are very poor and it says something that they have conceded at least twice in visits to Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield and the Etihad Stadium this season.
Unai Emery won't change his style and I think Tottenham Hotspur hosting the game makes all the difference on the day. The home team just haven't done draws this season and with that in mind I am going to look for Tottenham Hotspur to bounce back from their poor week and finish off with a win.
Spurs have won 4 in a row at Wembley Stadium in all competitions and can extend that sequence on Saturday morning.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal
