Premier League Preview: North London Derby takes centre stage

Upon one glance of this weekend’s Premier League fixture list, the eye is drawn to one fixture in particular. Sunday’s North London Derby, the season’s first clash of rivals, is one of the most fiercely contested in world football and so often produces memorable moments. This weekend’s is predicted to be no different.

With Ange Postecoglou now at the helm for Spurs, there appears to be a fresh feeling of optimism among the Tottenham faithful and after four wins and a draw from their opening five league games, the club sit pretty in second place behind Manchester City by just two points. 

Spurs showed their new-found character on Saturday, fighting back from a goal behind to beat Sheffield United 2-1 thanks to two extremely late goals courtesy of Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski in minutes 90+8 and 90+10 respectively. 

In previous years, such character has often been lacking where Tottenham have been concerned; the age old stigma of them being toothless and flacid in the face of any form of challenge has always plagued the north London side and has been a major factor contributing to their stark lack of silverware, with the 2007/08 League Cup still the last trophy to frequent their cabinet. For a club of Spurs’ size, stature and potential, that is simply not good enough. 

But under the stewardship of their new Greek-Australian maverick, who has so far bulldozed his way through the nay-sayers since arriving from Celtic in the summer with an unwavering swagger doused in relatable humility, the direction in which Tottenham are heading appears to be upwards at this extremely early stage. 

It must be said, Spurs’ opening run has been favourable. Aside from Manchester United, the wins they have achieved so far have all been against sides they would on paper expect to beat – although given United’s start you could perhaps include Erik ten Hag’s side in that synopsis as well. 

The shape in which the wins have come has been particularly impressive, though. Only Brighton (15) and Manchester City (14) have scored more than Tottenham’s 13 goals, while the five goals they have conceded means that they have the joint-third best defence in the division heading into this weekend’s derby. 

Sunday’s clash will undoubtedly be their biggest test to date, however, with Arsenal seemingly picking up where they left off last season this time around. The Gunners took City right to the wire and sat top of the tree for large parts of the previous campaign before falling away during the final sprint, but look poised to mount another serious challenge for the title and, like Spurs, are also unbeaten so far with four wins and a draw from five. 

Mikel Arteta’s side are fourth on goal difference but level on points with Tottenham and Liverpool ahead of gameweek six. They had to be extremely patient against Everton on Sunday, eventually beating the Toffees 1-0 at Goodison Park thanks to a well-taken strike from substitute Leandro Trossard and dominated possession throughout but were often frustrated by the hosts’ defensive approach. 

Martin Odegaard continues to prove his class in the Premier League and on Sunday ran the show, drifting between the lines and frequently seducing Everton’s rigorous low-block formation which resulted in him breaking the lines with ease. Spurs will play a more expansive game on Sunday as they look to utilise their own attacking threats – Maddison, Kulusevski and Son Heung-min among others – which will open up more pockets of space in midfield for the likes of Odegaard to exploit, and he is expected to carve out plenty of opportunities at the Emirates. 

If the history book is anything to go by then Sunday’s game should be a thrilling affair. Among the hard-hitting tackles and handbags at ten paces, goals have never been in short supply when these two big-hitters have clashed in the past. In the last 12 meetings, there have been a total of 36 goals scored. If the trend continues, we’re in for a treat. 

Premier League GW6 – fixtures in full:

Saturday 23 September 2023
15:00 Crystal Palace v Fulham
15:00 Luton Town v Wolves
15:00 Man City v Nottingham Forest
17:30 Brentford v Everton 
20:00 Burnley v Man Utd

Sunday 24 September 2023
14:00 Arsenal v Spurs
14:00 Brighton v AFC Bournemouth
14:00 Chelsea v Aston Villa
14:00 Liverpool v West Ham
16:30 Sheffield Utd v Newcastle