Tottenham vs. Arsenal: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Arsenal and Tottenham set out on the road to Wembley with a north London derby in the third round of the Capital One Cup.
The mood in both camps could not be more different.
Spurs have won their last three games and are beginning to look like a coherent outfit under Mauricio Pochettino.
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Arsenal, on the other hand, have endured a nightmare week. The Gunners have now lost their last two matches. Making it a hat-trick against rivals Tottenham is too depressing a thought for most Arsenal supporters to bear.
That poor run of form makes this fixture even more important for Arsene Wenger. Both sides will be going all-out for the win in this match.
Spurs will want to take advantage of Arsenal’s vulnerability, but will also recognise that this competition represents one of their most-expedient routes towards silverware.
Arsenal have not always prioritised the League Cup in the past, but know they must avoid another disappointing result to prevent morale from dropping any further.
Date: Wednesday, September 23
Time: 7.45 p.m. BST/2.45 p.m. ET
Location: White Hart Lane, London
Television coverage: Sky Sports 1 / Sky Sports 1 HD (UK), beIN SPORTS (U.S.)
Streaming: Sky Go (UK), fuboTV (U.S.)
Form
Tottenham
D (1-1) vs. Southampton
D (0-0) vs. Everton
W (0-1) vs. Sunderland
W (3-1) vs. FK Qarabag
W (1-0) vs. Crystal Palace
Arsenal
D (0-0) vs. Liverpool
W (0-1) vs. Newcastle
W (2-0) vs. Stoke
L (1-2) vs. Dinamo Zagreb
L (2-0) vs. Chelsea
Since returning from the international break, these teams have enjoyed very different fortunes. Tottenham have managed to put together a strong run of results, while Arsenal have faltered. Two wins from their last five matches is a poor return for a team with aspirations of claiming elite trophies this season.
The Managers
Thus far, Pochettino is unbeaten in north London derbies, having taken four points from an available six in 2014/15. He’ll be eager to continue that commendable record in his first cup encounter with Arsene Wenger’s men.
However, he seems to have enormous respect for his counterpart. Speaking to Rob Maul of The Express, Pochettino said:
"I respect (Arsene). He’s a great manager. I admire him because he’s in charge for maybe 18 years or 19 years, and he has real talent.
It’s not easy to stay at the same club for a long time.
"
Pochettino is still relatively early in his Tottenham career. However, he’ll be acutely aware that these derby games will play a huge part in determining whether or not he is able to emulate Wenger’s longevity.
The Gunners boss knows that if he wants to retain the support of the Arsenal fans, he must stop the rot immediately. In order to get back on a winning track, he believes his team need to keep their cool and be less emotional on the field.
Speaking to Colin Harvey of The Star, Wenger admitted:
"I believe we were unfortunate in Zagreb to have a man sent off, and at Chelsea as well, but you want your players to behave in a perfect way and not to show any response at all.
We have shown our frustration a little bit in both situations and you cannot afford that.
We want to get back into winning habits and that is why the momentum is even more important for us.
"
A win in this derby game would certainly help put Arsenal’s season back on a positive trajectory once more.
Team News
Tottenham
Pochettino is likely rotate his team for this match. In conversation with Rob Maul of The Express, the Spurs boss confided:
"We have a squad that is full of important players. But we have some injuries and we will rotate the team in our different games.
The key is you need to translate the confidence in your squad and I trust my squad.
The players that can play tomorrow I have no doubts will do best their best for the team. Whether you play in the Premier League or the Europa League or the FA Cup, we have enough quality players to play in different competitions.
"
The area presenting Pochettino with most problems will be central midfield. Nabil Bentaleb is certain to miss out, while both Ryan Mason and Moussa Dembele will require fitness tests to determine their availability.
In their absence, youngster Dele Alli—so impressive in the recent Premier League win over Crystal Palace—could be asked to continue in the middle of the park.
There should be changes in attack too. After coming on as a substitute in each of the last two games, Clinton Njie could finally be primed to make his full debut for the club.
Predicted Tottenham XI (4-2-3-1): Michel Vorm; Kieran Trippier, Eric Dier, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose; Dele Alli, Tom Carroll; Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen, Clinton Njie; Harry Kane.
Arsenal
Typically, Wenger rotates his squad heavily in this competition. However, his need for a positive result may force him to field a stronger team than he would originally have planned upon deploying.
Speaking to Arsenal.com, he admitted:
"I want to keep the squad together. We go game by game so I will make changes, for sure. How many? I’ve not decided yet. It will be quite an experienced squad with one or two younger players.
"
There will be some enforced changes: Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla are both suspended, although the former also has a knee injury, per the official Arsenal website. That could open up a chance for Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to come back into the midfield.
Other possible changes are likely to be at the extreme ends of the pitch. David Ospina, Arsenal’s cup goalkeeper, should come in for Petr Cech. Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud could well swap in for Theo Walcott as the Gunners’ centre-forward and focal point.
Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs; Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Girou.
Players to Watch
Tottenham: Harry Kane
The last time these two teams met at White Hart Lane, it was Kane who made headlines with a headed winner. However, he has endured a tougher time of late, failing to score a club goal thus far in 2015/16.
Pochettino seems unconcerned. Speaking to Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail, he said: “I think it’s coming. I have no concern. I am very happy with him. I am sure the goal is coming.”
There would be no better time for it to arrive than against Arsenal.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta
Although Arteta remains Arsenal’s club captain, he has long since lost his place as a regular in Wenger’s preferred XI. If he play against Tottenham, it will be just his second start since November 2014.
That’s largely due to a succession of injury problems. With Coquelin now sidelined, he must prove he is up to the task of replacing him. Although he lacks the Frenchman’s feisty physicality, he is positionally disciplined and tactically intelligent. His brain moves far quicker than his ageing legs.
Arteta will have a tough job keeping the likes of Christian Eriksen quiet. If Arsenal are to triumph at White Hart Lane, he will need to produce a far better display than the rusty showing he offered on his last outing in Zagreb.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.
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