Tottenham vs Arsenal: Betting preview ahead of the North London Derby

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Arsenal will be looking to tighten their grip at the top of the table with a win over Tottenham in the North London Derby on Sunday afternoon.

After losing to Aston Villa at home and crashing out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich earlier this month, many pundits suggested that Arsenal had blown their season. However, the Gunners have responded to those set-backs extremely well to get their campaign back on track.

Mikel Arteta’s side dug deep to beat Wolves 2-0 at Molineux Stadium on Saturday night – just three days after losing to Bayern. It was a vital win to put the previous disappointments behind them and keep themselves in the title race.

Arsenal then followed that up with a sensational performance to thrash Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday night. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring before Kai Havertz and Ben White both bagged braces to seal an emphatic win for the Gunners – which was their biggest against Chelsea in the clubs history.

The North Londoners now sit three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table. The Reds can move level with a win at Everton on Wednesday night but Arsenal would remain top due to their superior goal difference. Man City are four points back in third but they have two games in hand, and can close the gap to just a point if they beat Brighton at the Amex on Thursday.

So things couldn’t be tighter at the top but with points on the board, Arsenal are well positioned heading into the home stretch. Arguably their toughest test left is the trip across North London to face arch rivals Tottenham at the New Tottenham Stadium on Sunday afternoon. If Arsenal can come away with three points, it would be another huge statement that they are ready to push City and Liverpool all the way.

Spurs head into the game well rested as they’ve only played one game since the 7th April and that was a 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United over two weeks before the NLD. Ange Postecoglou will be demanding a response from his players as Tottenham look to close the gap on fourth placed Aston Villa – who sit six points ahead having played two extra games.

Betting odds

Looking at the odds on the melbet app we can see that Arsenal are the 8/13 favourites to win the game on Sunday. Tottenham can be backed at 13/5 to claim all three points on home soil while the draw is available at 23/10.

• Tottenham win 13/5
• Draw 23/10
• Arsenal win 8/13

There are usually goals in this fixture so over 2.5 match goals at odds of 2/5 looks a solid bet. Arsenal have the meanest defence in the league but Tottenham almost always get on the score-sheet at home, so both teams to score at 4/9 also looks like a decent punt.

Bukayo Saka has been outstanding for Arsenal once again this season and the England international is 5/6 to score or assist at any time in the game. Leandro Trossard has been in fine form lately so he also looks tempting at 8/11.

These games are normally fairly even and we expect another close contest on Sunday. However, Arsenal to edge it 2-1 is our tip at odds of 7/1. If we add Saka to score or assist in a 2-1 Arsenal win, the odds increase to 13/1.

Team news

Arsenal have virtually a fully fit squad to choose from. Takehiro Tomiyasu made a successful return to action against Chelsea after missing the win at Wolves with a knock.

Jurrien Timber returned to the pitch for the first time since recovering from an ACL injury that he picked up on the opening weekend of the season. The defender scored a stunner for the U23s earlier this week but he still lacks match fitness so won’t be considered for the trip to Tottenham.

As for Spurs, they’ll be without Destiny Udogie after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a thigh injury. Pedro Porro is expected to recover from a thigh injury while Richarlison should also be fit following a knee injury.

Prediction

It’s never easy to predict a NLD as anything can happen on the day. Both teams are fighting for their lives and desperately need a win. Tottenham need to keep their top four hopes alive, while Arsenal have to win to keep pace with City and Liverpool in the title race, so it’s all to play for at the New Tottenham Stadium.

With so much on the line, we could see a cagey first half but things should eventually open up and Arsenal will fancy their chances of snatching a win. It certainly won’t be easy, but we’re backing the Gunners to edge it 2-1. Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal

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