15 January 2025

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has no sympathy for Arsenal and their injury concerns as he prepares his depleted side for tomorrow night's north London derby.

Tottenham have struggled for bodies for most of the season and will once again be without three-quarters of their starting four players with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udoji all out, along with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Arsenal also have several concerns, but Postecoglou is not worried about anyone else's problems.

He said: I don't think they sympathize with us. I have empathy but not empathy.

“We've been in this situation for a while now. There's some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Twelfth-placed Tottenham have won just one of their last eight league games, and Postecoglou will want to start their season with a win over their arch rivals.

The Australian added: “I've been big into this (competition) since the first game and this year it's bigger than ever, especially for us and our season.

He added: “We need to start winning games in the league, and there is no better place to start.

“With the position we are in in the league at the moment, regardless of the turning points, we need to start winning games and moving up the table. Although this is a big challenge for us tomorrow night, there is an opportunity for us to do that.

Arsenal comes off the back of two disappointing results in the cup, losing to Newcastle in the EFL Cup last Tuesday, followed by Sunday's penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup.

President Mikel Arteta has hinted that the derby match is exactly what his players need to get back on track.

He said: “It is the best game of the season you can watch and play because of the atmosphere and what it means to people – for us and for everyone involved.

“Atmosphere is something the fans can help with and something we can do by giving them something to feed off of.”

Arsenal v Tottenham team news

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament at the weekend and is set to be sidelined for a long period, along with Ethan Nwaneri, Bukayo Saka and Ben White.

Riccardo Calafiore is a doubt but Jorginho and Jorge Temper are expected to be fit.

There was some rare good news for Postecoglou after he confirmed Richarlison is back in contention and the Brazilian striker is likely to start on the bench.

Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and Son Heung-min should return to the starting line-up after being left out of the FA Cup clash with Tamworth on Sunday.

Timo Werner is not available.

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Expected lineup for the match between Arsenal and Tottenham:

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Lewis Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli

Tottenham: Kinski; Pedro Porro, Dragocin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bergvall, Saar; Kulusevski, Sun, Solanki

How to watch the Arsenal and Tottenham match

The match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1, and the program will start at 6:30 p.m. The start is at 8 pm.

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