North London Derby Preview

The North London Derby is almost upon us, with Tottenham and Arsenal fans both bracing themselves for potential 2024/25 bragging rights. There are a number of huge derbies in the English game, but the bitterness of the North London divide has truly stood the test of time when it comes to modern football rivalries.

Although the Manchester Derby, Merseyside Derby and Man Utd vs Liverpool all carry immense weight in the PL, many consider the North London Derby to be the purest and fiercest of the bunch. But why is that? Let’s take a look into the history of Spurs vs Arsenal – as well as team news, predicted line-ups, and odds.

The Tottenham-Arsenal rivalry has been somewhat of a pendulum over the past decade. Throughout the early 2000s, Arsenal were seen as one of the most prestigious clubs in the country, while Tottenham struggled to climb their way out of mid-table mediocrity. The Arsenal fans even developed a yearly celebration dubbed St Totteringham’s Day, which falls on the day when it becomes mathematically impossible for the Lilywhites to finish above the Gunners. That all changed in the 2016/17 season when Spurs finished above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years. From then on, Tottenham finished higher than their bitter rivals for the next five seasons. In 2022, the pendulum swung again, with Arsenal rising to ascendancy to push Manchester City for the league title. But where does the North London Derby actually come from?

The History of the North London Derby

Technically, the first match played between Tottenham and Arsenal came all the way back in November 1887, but the sides were unable to actually finish the game due to poor light. Spurs won 2-1 but were defeated by Arsenal a few months later during their second head-to-head – a match in which Tottenham were only able to field nine players.

However, the true rivalry between the Lilywhites and the Gunners did not begin until 1913. While Arsenal had originally been based in Plumstead (which was a part of Kent at the time), they decided to uproot and move in 1913. Where to? North London, of course! The new Arsenal Stadium was located in Highbury, just four miles away from Tottenham’s beloved White Hart Lane. This was seen as an act of invasion by the Spurs fanbase and made Arsenal their new local rivals by force.

The first real North London Derby came in 1914 in a War Relief Fund friendly, which Arsenal won 5-1 at White Hart Lane despite being in the division below Spurs at the time. As if tensions weren’t high enough, the North London Derby kicked into a new gear once the war was over, and the First Division was expanded. The League decided to add two extra teams to the division, chosen from a pool of relegated sides and Second Division clubs. Chelsea, who had finished 19^th in the previous campaign, were selected to stay in the top division. Tottenham, who finished 20^th, were consigned to relegation, with Arsenal chosen as the second team to join the expanded First Division despite only finishing fifth in the Second Division the season before. Spurs fans felt as if they had been robbed of their rightful place in the upper echelon of English football – robbed by none other than their fiercest rivals.

Fortunately, it didn’t take Tottenham long to climb their way back into the First Division after winning the Second Division title in the 1919/20 season. From that day on, the North London Derby became a regular occurrence in English football. The first competitive match was won 2-1 by Tottenham at White Hart Lane in January 1921. The football association even had to censure Spurs and Arsenal and threaten to force them to play behind closed doors due to the animosity shown on derby days.

Between 1950 and present day, the North London Derby has been contested every single season but one – 1977/78.

The Venue

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Sunday 15 September. Kick-off: 14:00 local time.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium first opened in April 2019, and there have actually only been four North London Derbies held at the ground since that time. Spurs won the first two games 2-0 and 3-0 respectively, but the Gunners have fought back and won each of the last two 2-0 and 3-2. If one side can record a victory on Sunday, they will edge into the lead for the most NLD wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Team News and Injury News

Let’s take a look at some of the team and injury news as we head into the first NLD of the 2024/25 season.

Tottenham: Spurs were without Dominic Solanke, Micky Van de Ven, and Richarlison against Newcastle last time out. Richarlison is not expected to return in time to play a part in the North London Derby, but both Solanke and Van de Ven are hopeful of making a return thanks to the two-week international break. The Dutch defender only just missed out on the squad for the Newcastle game, while Solanke has only played one match for Spurs since joining from Bournemouth. Ange Postecoglou will be hoping to get through the rest of the international break without any further injury problems.

Arsenal: The Gunners have a few more problems than their NLD rivals heading into Sunday’s game. The most pivotal comes in midfield, with Declan Rice guaranteed to miss the fixture due to his red card against Brighton (which cannot be appealed as it came via two yellow cards) and their captain out due to an injury picked up during the international break. New signing Mikel Merino may ordinarily have replaced the England international, but he is currently out with an injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu is also expected to miss the game due to a knee injury. Both Gabriel Jesus and Kieran Tierney have a chance of returning to the matchday squad. Riccardo Calafiori picked up a problem on duty for Italy, but it is not expected to be anything serious.

Players to Watch

There are a number of exciting players to watch in the NLD this season – with particular focus on some of the attack vs defence match-ups. If Dominic Solanke starts, he will be looking for his first Spurs goal up against the most consistent defence in the league – William Saliba and Gabriel. At the other end of the pitch, Cristian Romero will have to decide whether to follow Kai Havertz into the pockets with his usual aggressive, no-nonsense style. On the left side of Tottenham’s attack, the width of Heung-min Son will come up against the defensive style of Ben White. In contrast, Bukayo Saka will look to take advantage of the space provided by inverted runs from Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie. In the absence of Declan Rice, the match could very well be won in the middle of the park for both teams.

Head-to-Head Record

There have been 185 North London Derbies to date, with Arsenal claiming 77 wins and Tottenham just 58 – leaving 50 draws. The Gunners have scored 283 goals during that time, compared to the Lilywhites’ 248. However, the top scorer in NLD history is Tottenham’s Harry Kane with 14 goals, four ahead of Bobby Smith and Emmanuel Adebayor who controversially played for both teams in his career.

Spurs have not beaten Arsenal in the PL since a 3-0 home victory in the 2021/22 season, but there are always goals to shout about in this fixture. In fact, in the last 10 North London Derbies alone there have been a whopping 34 goals – that’s more than three goals per game on average.

Last season, this fixture was won by Mikel Arteta’s side, who recorded a 3-2 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The reverse fixture was drawn 2-2.

Form Guide

Arsenal come into the first derby of the season in better form than their North London counterparts, which is to be expected for a side competing for the league trophy. The Gunners recorded back-to-back 2-0 wins against Wolves and Aston Villa to kick off their campaign, but were held to a draw by Brighton last time out after Declan Rice saw red.

Tottenham, on the other hand, have been a real mixed bag at the start of the 2024/25 season. Despite dominating their opening match against newly-promoted Leicester City, they only left the King Power Stadium with a single point thanks to a Jamie Vardy goal. The Lilywhites then battered Everton 4-0 at home before struggling on the road once more away to Newcastle, losing 2-1 despite being the better side.

Potential Implications

The most important implication of any North London Derby, or any derby match of any kind for that matter, is the bragging rights. Tottenham and Arsenal don’t play again until January 14 at the Emirates, giving either set of fans at least four months of mockery. On the one hand, Spurs will hope to kickstart their season and simultaneously dent Arsenal’s title chances. On the other hand, the Gunners will want to put the Lilywhites in their place and send a message to Manchester City about their title credentials this season.

There were 23 points between Arsenal and Spurs last season, so it seems unlikely that Ange Postecoglou’s side will be able to bridge that kind of gap in just one campaign. However, they will very much want to close the gap on the biggest teams in England. Arsenal were just two points behind Man City in the title race last year, and picking up an extra win over Spurs could prove to be the difference come May.

Predicted Line-Ups

Let’s take a look at how we expect Mikel Arteta and Ange Postecoglou to line up their sides for the North London Derby on Sunday.

Tottenham: Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison; Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Heung-min Son.

Arsenal: David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Jurrien Timber; Thomas Partey, Jorginho, Kai Havertz; Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling.

North London Derby Odds

Betsson is currently offering a wide range of odds on Tottenham vs Arsenal ahead of this weekend’s North London Derby!

Tottenham to win: 3.10

Draw: 3.75

Arsenal to win: 2.25

Last season, this fixture was won by Arsenal 3-2. If you want to back the Gunners to secure another 3-2 away win against Spurs, you can get odds of 19.00. Alternatively, Tottenham have odds of 23.00 to flip the script and record a 3-2 win of their own. There hasn’t been a bore draw (0-0) between these two sides in the league since way back in the 2008/09 season, but you can get odds of 17.00 for the match to finish 0-0 on Sunday.

You can also use the Betsson Bet Builder to create your own wager from scratch, including odds on goals, timings, corners, handicaps, and more.

You can find all the latest North London Derby odds HERE via Betsson!

Score Prediction

Arsenal undoubtedly come into the game as favourites considering their title credentials, but form and home advantage often go out the window when it comes to the North London Derby. We expect the Gunners to open the scoring, but Spurs to fight back and earn a 2-2 draw, with goals from Kai Havertz, Dominic Solanke, Bukayo Saka, and Heung-min Son.

Score prediction: Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal

Last Updated: 10.09.2024