Arsenal vs. Tottenham: Predicting Spurs' Starting XI for North London Derby

The North London Derby is coming this Sunday. So what we want to know is this: Who's starting?

Tottenham have plenty of in-form players going into Sunday's North London Derby. The FA Cup draw with Stevenage may have slowed the team's momentum a bit, but the players are still fresh from a 5-0 demolition of Newcastle in their last English Premier League match.

Additionally, many players are returning from injury. Rafael van der Vaart is expected to be fit to play against Arsenal, while Emmanuel Adebayor has stated that he too is confident that he'll be fit in time for the match.

So without further adieu, let's break down the options Spurs have at each position for this match and share who we think Harry Redknapp will pick at each position.

Goalkeeper: Brad Friedel

We start with Brad Friedel, arguably the most consistent performer for Tottenham this season.

Honestly, I think Brad Friedel does not get enough credit for the performances he's put in this year for Tottenham.

Were Brad Friedel 20 years old instead of 40, we'd be talking about the next legendary goalkeeper.

Instead, you rarely hear Friedel's name thrown into the hat of this year's standout goalkeepers, despite his excellent statistics and saves.

Some might say that Tottenham's defense has made Friedel's job easy, but that's not completely true.

Tottenham's defense has lessened the amount of saves he has to make as compared to when he was a goalkeeper for Aston Villa and other smaller EPL clubs, but Brad Friedel still does plenty of work in goal for Tottenham.

This is evidenced by the 91 saves Friedel has made this season. Presently, Friedel has 10 clean sheets in 25 games and allows only one goal on average per game (25 goals allowed in 25 games).

Those stats aren't the best in the world, but there's only a handful of keepers with better stats than Friedel.

Left-Back: Danny Rose

Benoit Assou-Ekotto recently underwent groin surgery, and though the operation has been described as minor, it will be enough to keep him out of the North London Derby.

In Benoit Assou-Ekotto's absence, Danny Rose will likely be asked to step in and play at left-back. 

Against Stevenage, Danny Rose was arguably Spurs' best player, marauding up and down the left flank, breaking up play and initiating counterattacks.

He isn't as defensively reliable as BAE, but he should be good enough to do the job. He's played as a left-back on numerous occasions in the FA Cup and Europa League for Tottenham, so even though it isn't his natural position (left-wing is), he should be familiar enough with it by now.

And who knows, Danny Rose may decide to surprise us all the way he did in his first match against Arsenal.

Right-Back: Kyle Walker

Right-back is probably Tottenham's most straightforward position. Kyle Walker is an automatic first-choice starter for the spot when fit, and rarely is he ever unfit (he's missed one league game this season).

Kyle Walker's only competition for the spot, Vedran Corluka, was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen for the season, so you can just imagine how much faith Harry Redknapp has in Walker's ability.

Jake Livermore has been called on to replace Kyle Walker in cup competitions in the past, but he's generally only an emergency backup for Walker, not a contender for the position.

Kyle Walker's only goal of the season came against Arsenal, and what a stunner it was. Could he double his tally this Sunday?

Center-Back: Ledley King

Another no-brainer selection for Harry Redknapp. When fit, Ledley King is probably the first name on the team sheet for Harry Redknapp.

Tottenham's record when King starts this season has been a remarkable 11-3-1, and prior to the Manchester City loss, Tottenham had been unbeaten for 18 consecutive matches in which Ledley King started.

Ledley King provides leadership, backbone and stability to Tottenham and is remarkably consistent.

Against Arsenal, that consistency will be put to the test against one of the best strikers in the game, but King should be up for the challenge.

Center-Back: Michael Dawson

For the last few games, Harry Redknapp has had to choose whether to start Michael Dawson or Younes Kaboul in the center of the defense alongside Ledley King

Despite Younes Kaboul's consistency and improvement over the course of the season, Redknapp has consistently chosen Dawson, and there's nothing to indicate that he'll change his preference for the NLD.

If King provides the consistency and stability, then Dawson provides the physicality and determination.

He's not the fastest defender (anyone who saw him play against Sergio Aguero at the start of the season knows this), but he's tough, gritty and will put his body on the line to prevent a goal.

He's mauled many a striker (just ask Andy Carroll) and will likely frustrate RVP or any other Arsenal player who tries to challenge him in the air.

Apparently, he's not too bad at scoring headers either.

Left Midfielder: Gareth Bale

Another easy selection for Redknapp.

Gareth Bale has developed significantly this season to the point where he is one of the few players on Barcelona's summer wish list. Many consider him Tottenham's best player—ahead of Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart.

He hasn't exactly been in electrifying form in recent games, but Gareth Bale has a tendency to come up big when his team needs him, especially against Arsenal.

With Arsenal's defenders in poor form, here's hoping Gareth Bale can pile more misery onto Arsenal's back four.

Right Midfielder: Aaron Lennon

This is a very tough one to predict because Aaron Lennon only recovered from injury just before the Newcastle United match, and up to that point Niko Kranjar was doing a good job as starter on the right flank.

Nevertheless, I think Aaron Lennon's pace will convince Harry Redknapp to select him ahead of Kranjcar, despite Kranjcar's good form and consistency on the right.

Aaron Lennon continues to be the "weakest link" of Tottenham's midfield. He's not a bad midfielder by any means; indeed, most wingers would kill to have his pace.

But he's failed to develop his dribbling and crossing skills along with that pace, and so his overall development has been very slow or even nonexistent.

If Eden Hazard is brought in next season, it is almost a foregone conclusion that he'll be replacing Aaron Lennon in Spurs' starting lineup.

Despite his flaws, Lennon does have days where he is easily the best player on the pitch. His performances against QPR and Fulham on Matchday 10 and 11 respectively are two examples.

Hopefully that same Lennon turns up at the Emirates on Sunday and not the usual frustratingly inconsistent one Spurs are accustomed to watching.

Central Midfielder: Scott Parker

Just as Mark van Bommel shut down Arsenal's midfielders for AC Milan, Spurs will need Scott Parker to play the same role for Tottenham, shutting down Arsenal's midfield play and preventing Robin van Persie from receiving the service he needs to score.

It would probably also be in Parker's best interest to pick up fewer bookings.

He's been booked in three of his four last games, and he'll need to be more careful with his tackles if he wants to avoid picking up a suspension before the end of the season.

Central Midfielder: Luka Modric

Luka Modric missed Tottenham's FA Cup clash with Stevenage due to an illness, but it is being reported that he should be well and fit for Tottenham's match with Arsenal by Sunday.

That's very good news for Tottenham, as they looked woefully short of creativity in midfield without Luka Modric against Stevenage, the sixth place team in League One, in the FA Cup.

Jake Livermore may be a central midfielder like Modric, but he's nowhere near as creative a player as the Croatian.

Only Niko Kranjcar has come close to being an affective backup to Luka Modric in the center, but Harry Redknapp has shown a reluctance to utilize Kranjcar in that position this season.

Striker: Emmanuel Adebayor

Like Ledley King, when Adebayor is fit, he has always started under Harry Redknapp.

Additionally, there's always an extra element of excitement in seeing Adebayor line up against the team that really developed him as a player and earned him his reputation as a skilled striker.

Will Adebayor be able to duplicate the one goal, four assist performance he put on against Newcastle? Unlikely. But he's been in good form, and I'd be willing to bet that he'll either chip in with a goal or assist for Tottenham on Sunday.

Striker: Jermain Defoe

This is the toughest position to predict for Sunday's derby.

Louis Saha could start after proving his worth in Tottenham's 5-0 win over Newcastle. And Rafael van der Vaart could start since he's widely expected to be fit for Tottenham's game against Arsenal.

However, I expect Jermain Defoe will be the starter for Tottenham in the NLD. Here's why.

Louis Saha's performance against Newcastle was great, but let's not lose perspective. Saha was brought in to be Tottenham's third or fourth striker behind Adebayor, Defoe and VDV. (I say third or fourth because VDV isn't technically a striker).

Defoe had not been fully fit until Tottenham's match with Stevenage. He was approaching match fitness against Newcastle, but rather than risk re-injuring his second-choice striker, Redknapp chose to bring him on as a substitute, a cautious but correct decision.

With Defoe back to full fitness, it's pretty safe to assume he'll be back above Saha in the pecking order.

Redknapp is too experienced to be influenced by a player's performance in a single game, as his preference of Dawson over Kaboul shows, Redknapp is a man who prefers experience and pedigree over short-term form.

As for VDV, Redknapp's cautious approach with injuries likely means VDV will join this game off the bench and reclaim his starting position in future matches.

Opinion

Though Danny Rose has looked decent at left-back this season and in the past, he likely represents Tottenham's biggest weakness in this game.

If the likes of Theo Walcott or Gervinho can take advantage of Rose's inexperience, Arsenal may be able to get a draw or even all three points at home.

If not, I expect this game to easily flow in Tottenham's favor.

Even though Tottenham will be playing away from home, Tottenham's superior quality in every position except striker and goalkeeper should make this a comfortable derby for Spurs.

What do you think? Who do you think will start for Spurs on Sunday? And who do you think will win?

Share your thoughts below, and thanks for reading.