One of the most traditional and prestigious London derby’s will add another chapter when Tottenham welcomes Arsenal to White Hard Lane. Arsenal are on a massive unbeaten streak against Tottenham, having won or drawn in the last 20 matches against each other but there are some signs that this could be the end of it.
 

Tottenham Hotspurs
League position: 5th on 58 points
Ruled out: Niko Kranjcar (doubtful),  Wilson Palacios (suspended), Aaron Lennon, 
Jermaine Jenas, Jonathan Woodgate and Carlo Gudicini are all longterm injured.                
Home game record: 11-2-3

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will make a late decision on the availability of Ledley King ahead of the north London derby against Arsenal. The centre-back has been out since February with a thigh injury but trained on Tuesday and could start tomorrow. Tottenham are in hot pursuit of the 4th spot, currently being held by Manchester City with a 4 point deficit to Tottenham. But they have this game in hand and if they can manage to win it, they will close the gap to 12 point with 5 games to play. Spurs have shown magnificent form at home recently with 6 wins and 2 draws in their last 8 matches. Overall they actually have the best defensive record at home, having conceded only 10 goals in 16 matches and actually only 2 goals in the last 8 home games. This weekend saw Tottenham being robbed in the FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth where a goal in the extra time finished their hopes of making it to the final. They dominated the game and only an unfortunate slip on the wet pitch from Michael Dawson resulted in a breakthrough that sealed the game for Portsmouth. This however leaves Spurs with only one mission now – to secure the 4th spot and qualify for the Champions League’s last qualification stage.

Arsenal
League position: 3rd on 71 points
Ruled out: Alexandre Song (knee), Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin, William Gallas, Aaron Ramsey, Johan Djourou and Kieran Gibbs are all longterm injured.
Away game record: 8-4-4

Gunners have been struggling a bit lately, having won only one of the last 4 games in all tournaments and this was in fact an overtime win from Nicklas Bendtner who secured a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton. The other games was a draw against Birmingham and their 2 games against Barcelona in the Champions League which really displayed that Arsenal, with their current availability of players, are just a little below the European elite at the moment. Striker Robin Van Persie will return after a 5 month injury spell for this game but he is not likely to start as his return is a little ahead of planning. Arsene Wenger has off course guaranteed his fitness but also realises that he can not afford to take any chances with him. The Championship is still within reach as they are “only” trailing Chelsea by 3 points but will have to perform beyond capabilities in their final games if they are to clinch it. Their form away from home hasn’t been impressive and from the last 5 away games they have 2-2-1 with their 2 wins being decided in the very last minutes at Stoke and Hull. The draws has come against Aston Villa and Birmingham whereas their loss was to Chelsea.

Conclusion
Both teams are forced to win this game as neither can use a draw in the standings. Spurs strong defence compared to the missing offensive power from Arsenal (Arshavin, Fabregas) is leading me to believe that Tottenham will come out on top. Arsenal has been lucky in their latest away games and they can not continue to rely on last minute heroics. Spurs haven’t won in 20 games against Arsenal which is close to ridiculous but all things come to an end and this could be it for Tottenham and I recommend betting on a Tottenham win.