Premier League Preview: Spurs vs Arsenal
The early kick off on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League sees Tottenham Hotspur host Arsenal at Wembley in the North London derby. Arsene Wenger’s men go into the game on a high after demolishing Everton 5-1 last weekend while Spurs have had a shortened rest due to the cup replay against Newport County.
Premier League Preview: Tottenham Hotspur
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Spurs. While they will undoubtedly be pleased that they were able to beat Manchester United at home on transfer deadline day, they have suffered three successive away draws including a humbling 1-1 tie in the FA Cup fourth round against League Two side Newport County.
Sunday’s match was a case in point as to why Spurs haven’t quite been a top four side this season. Having gone down to an early goal from Egyptian sensation Mo Salah early on, Mauricio Pochettino’s men fought back to level the game through an absolute blockbuster by Victor Wanyama and might have won it in injury time had Harry Kane managed to score his first penalty. Spurs then almost contrived to lose the game when Mo Salah danced through the area to net his second before Kane managed to hold his nerve and send Loris Karius the wrong way with his second penalty in the 95th minute.
However, Spurs record at Wembley is good. They have gone unbeaten at home in the Premier League since August 2017, winning eight from twelve games. They’ve only conceded more than one goal at home twice in the Premier League all season and have kept six clean sheets.
Premier League Preview: Arsenal
Arsene Wenger will no doubt have been purring in delight after his side demolished Everton 5-1 at the Emirates on Saturday, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netting an albeit offside debut goal in a four goal first half salvo – and indeed, at home Arsenal have been imperious. Away from the safe confines of N7 however, is a different story with Arsenal having won just once on the road in six Premier League games and just three times all season.
Indeed, Arsenal have managed to take the lead in all of their last three away games in the league, only to drop points thanks to defensive clangers and goalkeeping errors. Arsenal could and should have done better in their last away match at Swansea only to see an absolute howler from keeper Petr Cech allow Jordan Ayew in to score for the Swans.
Cech is unlikely to face Spurs having injured his calf against Swansea and should he not return to first team training by Friday it’s likely that Colombian keeper David Ospina will take his place in the lineup. It will also be interesting to see how Wenger reacts to Anthony Taylor being given the game to referee after he controversially awarded Chelsea a penalty after Eden Hazard went down under a Hector Bellerin challenge in last month’s 2-2 draw.
Premier League Preview: Early Odds
Spurs start the game as favourites which is understandable bearing in mind their home form and Arsenal’s away form. However, the handicap line of -0.5/+0.5 is probably closer than that form would suggest it should be and reflects the nature of the derby. Likewise, over 2.5 goals is at just 1.43 which is almost certainly a reflection of the eight Arsenal Premier League games which have seen that bet win in the last ten. For those looking value the consideration might be no in the BTTS market at 2.53 with the last two meetings between these sides ending as 2-0 home wins.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/57511216@N04/39560658871 , CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
