Tottenham vs. Arsenal: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream and TV Info
The second north London derby of the 2014-15 Premier League season is upon us. Once again Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are battling it out for Champions League football.
It has been a recurrent theme in recent seasons. Tottenham have narrowed the gap and, at certain points, looked to have gained the upper hand only to be dragged back by Arsene Wenger's perennial top-four men.
Just two points separate the respective sixth and fifth place sides before Saturday's early afternoon kick-off. "We are ready to concentrate and focus," Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "I can feel that this is a special game for our players."
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Without a win over the Gunners in five matches (all competitions) since March 2013, the Argentinian will also hope it is a victorious one for his side.
Date: Saturday, February 7
Time: 12:45 p.m. GMT/7:45 a.m. ET
Venue: White Hart Lane, London
TV Info: BT Sport 1 (U.K. only)/NBCSN (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport app and online player (U.K. only)/NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)
Form lines
| Tottenham Hotspur | Arsenal |
| Premier League, January 31: West Bromwich Albion (a)—Won: 0-3 | Premier League, February 1: Aston Villa (h)—Won: 5-0 |
| Capital One Cup, January 28: Sheffield United (a)—Drew: 2-2 | FA Cup, January 25: Brighton & Hove Albion (a)—Won: 2-3 |
| FA Cup, January 24: Leicester City (h)—Lost: 1-2 | Premier League, January 18: Manchester City (a)—Won: 0-2 |
| Capital One Cup, January 21: Sheffield United (h)—Won: 1-0 | Premier League, January 11: Stoke City (h)—Won: 3-0 |
| Premier League, January 17: Sunderland (h)—Won: 2-1 | FA Cup, January 4: Hull City (h)—Won: 2-0 |
Team news
"All the players are available and this is a very good thing for us," Pochettino confirmed via Spurs' official website. "It’s difficult for me to now pick the 18 players, but it’s better to have that competition."
Wenger revealed Danny Welbeck was available for selection again, per Arsenal's official website. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez and Jack Wilshere were still unavailable, though, "apart from that we have the same squad available as last week."
Predicted formations
Tottenham player to watch: Nacer Chadli
A family bereavement meant Chadli was unable to contribute to Tottenham's Capital One Cup semi-final defeat of Sheffield United. The attacking midfielder came off the bench in their win over West Bromwich Albion last weekend, though, and he will surely be a good bet to start on Saturday.
Chadli is establishing a reputation as a big-game player at Spurs. He scored their opener in September's 1-1 draw with Arsenal. More successfully, he struck in their cup quarter-final win over Newcastle United and then again in an excellent and, at times, dominant display against league leaders Chelsea.
Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane have continued to earn plaudits in his absence, but back in contention again, Chadli will surely want to make up for lost time. And what better opponent to do so against than Spurs' biggest rivals.
Arsenal player to watch: Theo Walcott
Walcott has become one of Arsenal's most gleeful Tottenham tormentors in recent years.
He was on the scoresheet in both of the Gunners' 5-2 wins in 2012. The winger's brace in the first of them helped Arsenal back from two goals down. The galvanising victory saw their fortunes surge, and it prompted a collapse from third place for Spurs, which saw them ultimately denied Champions League football.
Just over a year ago during Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup win, Walcott infamously taunted Spurs supporters as he was stretchered off with what proved a season-ending injury.
Fit again and with two goals in his last two appearances, the 25-year-old will undoubtedly draw the ire of the White Hart Lane faithful if he features.
Key Battle: Can Spurs' defence resist Arsenal?
"Alexis is a very good player," Pochettino agreed on Thursday about the absent Sanchez, "but Arsenal have another player like Welbeck or [Olivier] Giroud, or like Walcott or like Chamberlain or like [Mesut] Ozil, a lot of names, a lot of players!
"It is true that Alexis is a very good player. But I think that Arsenal have players to replace him."
Spurs are not short of their own attacking talent, and as they showed in the New Year's Day win over Chelsea, they are capable of inspiring them to impressive results. You suspect, though, that Pochettino's defence is going to need to be at their best to ensure the efforts of their front-men are not in vein.
The Gunners were awesome in the second-half against Aston Villa last weekend. Their counter-attacks were precise to the point of appearing unstoppable at times—passing and movement timed to near-perfection.
A day earlier, Spurs ultimately dealt with West Brom, but not before the manipulative abilities of Saido Berahino had given Federico Fazio in particular problems.
The Argentinian was clearly rusty after just one game in the previous few weeks following injury. With that out of his system, the restoration of his burgeoning partnership with Jan Vertonghen is likely.
They will need to be at their united best to stop an Arsenal side who possess the qualities of pace and skill Berahino threatened with, and then some. Stopping them will not be down to Spurs' centre-back pair entirely, but when the inevitable pressure is applied against them, they cannot be caught flat-footed and disconnected.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Tottenham win: 9/4
Arsenal win: 13/10
Draw: 5/2
First goalscorer—Kane: 11/2 Giroud: 9/2
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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