Tottenham v Arsenal: Goals to flow in North London Derby

• Huge derby in store on Sunday

• Back goals in 5/2 Bet Builder

• Xhaka value in fouls market

Sunday is derby day in north London and once again the stakes are high.

This fixture at the back end of last season went a long way to deciding which of these sides finished fourth, with Spurs' 3-0 win ensuring it was they who would be playing Champions League football this term.

This time around, Arsenal find themselves in the unexpected position of Premier League leaders - and May's defeat probably has something to do with that; not being in the CL has surely helped their domestic cause.

Spurs, meanwhile, sit fifth and are once again in a tough battle to secure a top-four finish.

Gunners have the form

Both clubs still have a long way to go to achieve their aims and there's little doubt that one would love to throw a spanner in the works of the other.

Throw this over to pure form and Arsenal would have to be backed. They've won 14 of 17 league games so far and are 2.285/4 for victory here with Spurs out at 3.3512/5 following a run of four defeats in their last eight league outings.

They've also lost four of their five games against the current top six this season.

Martin Odegaard is sparkling as an attacking midfielder, defensively they've found solidity with William Saliba a fine addition to the backline and even the injury to Gabriel Jesus doesn't seem to have caused much disruption.

Injuries haven't helped the Spurs cause but at least things are beginning to improve on that front.

Spurs' injuries healing

Dejan Kulusevski, one of their best players this season, is fit again and it's possible that Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison could return to the squad for this clash.

That's good news for Tottenham fans, who will also be aware that Arsenal's record in this particular fixture is, frankly, poor.

The Gunners have failed to win any of their last eight league games away to Spurs, whether at White Hart Lane, Wembley or their current spaceship of a ground. They've lost the last three (and have never lost four in a row) with their last victory coming in 2014.

Some will see that as an irrelevant statistic but I've long been a believer in how such runs can get into players' heads. Throw in the fact this is a huge derby and relying solely on recent form isn't the route I want to go down.

Goals on the cards

Preference is to pursue other angles, one of which is plenty of goals.

The North London Derby had a massive reputation for goals around 15 years ago - who remembers the 5-4 at WHL, David Bentley's volley in a 4-4 draw and Emmanuel Adebayor's goal of the season in a 3-1 Arsenal win?

While the goal numbers have, understandably, reduced from such a high, over 2.5 goals has still landed in seven of the last nine derbies, while the both-teams-to-score stat also stands at seven of nine.

In terms of the current campaign, the average total goals per game for both sides is well above three, with only Manchester City's matches seeing more goals than those involving these two. This season's reverse fixture finished 3-1.

Focusing solely on goals scored, Spurs have scored in all bar one of their home matches, while Arsenal have found the net in every away game.

Spurs have also conceded plenty - more than both Everton and West Ham, in fact.

I'm therefore happy to put both over 2.5 goals and both teams to score into a Bet Builder and will complete it by adding Harry Kane to score at anytime.

Remarkably, Kane has landed this in seven of his eight home Premier League games against Arsenal.

This season he's found the net in 13 of his 18 matches (15 goals in total) and that would be been spoken about a lot more were it not for a certain Erling Haaland.

Essentially, Kane is a man in fine form, scoring goals despite his side's relative struggles, while he's also a super record in this fixture.

The three-legged Bet Builder pays 5/2.

Focus on Xhaka

For a second bet, I rarely let a North London Derby pass without having an interest in Granit Xhaka.

He's been carded in eight of his last 12 against Spurs which helps explain odds of 2.186/5 about him receiving another from referee Craig Pawson - averaging more then four cards per game - in this match.

I wouldn't put anyone off that player card bet but a way of squeezing a bit more value out of Xhaka's dirty streak is to back him for 2+ fouls instead.

He's managed this in nine of his last 13 derby games and while his foul count has come down this season, largely due to playing slightly further forward, it's worth noting that Pawson sits third for fouls per game in the Premier League table for refs who have taken charge of multiple games.

With Xhaka occupying the left-hand side of the Arsenal midfield, he will also come up against Kulusevski at times and the Swede has caused opponents real issues with his runs and eye for a pass since his arrival 12 months ago.

Essentially, I'm surprised to see this on offer at 7/5 and 2+ fouls for Xhaka looks worth backing.

Opta fact

Tottenham have only failed to score in one of their last 17 Premier League games against Arsenal, finding the net in each of their last 10 since a 2-0 loss in November 2017.

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