The Gunners are in high spirits after a 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea earlier this week, but Tottenham has had plenty of time to stew over their disappointing 4-0 loss to Newcastle United.
Due to Manchester City's involvement in the later stages of the FA Cup, Spurs had a two-week break since their last match on April 13, where they put in a lackluster performance, damaging their hopes of a top-four finish.
Newcastle's win over Spurs was decisive, with Alexander Isak scoring twice and Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schar adding goals to seal a comprehensive victory. Since then, Aston Villa has put distance between themselves and Spurs in the race for the Champions League, but Spurs still have a couple of games in hand, keeping their hopes alive.
Given this, Spurs can't afford any more slip-ups if they want to keep their European dreams alive. They still have tough matches against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City ahead, which makes the derby all the more crucial.
Without Harry Kane, who's now in Munich with Bayern, Son Heung-min remains the key player for Spurs, with an impressive record against Arsenal, including a brace in their earlier meeting this season.
Arsenal, on the other hand, was wobbling after back-to-back losses to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, but they've bounced back with big wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea, the latter being their biggest victory against the Blues in history.
This put them back on track as they try to fend off Manchester City, who are hot on their heels, just a point behind in the league standings after a 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
As Arsenal heads into this critical derby, there's no room for mistakes if they want to prevent City from claiming their fourth consecutive Premier League title. They still have Spurs, Bournemouth, Manchester United, and Everton to play before the season wraps up.
While there have been questions about Arsenal's lack of a natural striker, Kai Havertz's recent form has quieted those concerns, with the German now scoring 11 league goals this season. Arsenal's offense is firing, but they'll need to be sharp to get past their North London rivals in what promises to be a high-stakes, high-energy derby.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Since joining Tottenham from Udinese, left-back Destiny Udogie made a strong impression, but his season is over after he picked up a quad injury in the loss to Newcastle.This adds to Tottenham's defensive troubles, as Pedro Porro's fitness is also in question. However, in his pre-match press conference, manager Ange Postecoglou mentioned that Porro could play in some capacity this Sunday.
Richarlison has had a tough time with injuries this season, but the two-week break has helped him recover from a knee issue, and he's ready to play against Arsenal. Tottenham's injury list still includes goalkeeper Fraser Forster (foot), Manor Solomon (knee), and Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), all of whom are out for the rest of the season.
On Arsenal's side, defender Jurrien Timber made his return to competitive action for the club's Under-21s on Monday night after a serious knee injury during the first match of the season in August.
He even scored a goal on his return, sparking calls from Arsenal fans to include him in Sunday's match. Mikel Arteta, the Gunners' manager, said he'll make a final decision after Saturday's training.
Apart from Timber, Arsenal has no other injury issues. This likely means they'll stick with the same starting lineup that crushed Chelsea on Tuesday, keeping Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus on the bench.
Takehiro Tomiyasu missed the game against Wolves last weekend as a precaution but played 72 minutes in the Chelsea match, so he should start again this Sunday. With both teams managing their share of injuries, it'll be interesting to see how they adjust for the North London derby.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Hojbjerg, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Gabriel, Saliba, Tomiyasu; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Trossard, Saka, Havertz
EXPERT PREDICTION
Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal
However, since Spurs have had two weeks off to recover and regroup after their poor showing against Newcastle, there's no reason they can't push the Gunners and come away with a draw, even against a team chasing the top spot.
