Alan Shearer thinks there won’t be much to separate Tottenham and Arsenal on Sunday, backing the two sides to play out a score draw.
Arsenal have injury problems vs Spurs
The Gunners are depleted coming into Sunday’s game, with several of their players sidelined due to injuries or suspensions.
The most consequential of those is undoubtedly Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, two players who are among the first names in Mikel Arteta’s teamsheet.
As a result of those absences, several pundits have suggested that the visitors may struggle to get all three points on Sunday.
Paul Merson has predicted a score draw, admitting that it is through hope rather than expectation (Sportskeeda) while Chris Sutton believes that Ange Postecoglou’s men firmly have the upper hand, backing the home side to come away with a win (BBC Sport).
Alan Shearer predicts North London Derby score
Shearer also believes that Mikel Arteta’s men will not have things their own way, backing the points to be shared between the two sides.
The pundit told The Metro: “If of course, Martin Odegaard is ruled that’s bad news for Arsenal but very good for Tottenham. Odegaard and Rice are two of Arsenal’s big hitters, so to go into a game of this size without them, it would be tough for Arsenal.
“The key to this game for me is will Spurs improve in forward positions. It’s something Ange Postecoglou will want to work on in terms of having more killer instinct when they do have the ball because, on the evidence I saw, they’ll have to improve massively.
“These games are always really tight, and with the potential injury news for Arsenal, there may not be a lot between the two teams, so I’m tempted to go for a score draw in this one.”
Prediction: Score draw (1-1, 2-2, 3-3, etc)
Spurs Web Opinion
The first goal in this game will be extremely crucial. If Arsenal scores first, I fear for us as they can afford to sit back and pick us off on the counter-attack like they did back in April.