Congratulations Tottenham Hotspur, you were granted a de facto April international break. So in addition to the intl. breaks in September, October, November and March, you also had 15 days off ahead of the North London derby at home to Arsenal FC.
By the time this match kicks off, the Gunners will have played four games since Spurs last took to the pitch! Talk about scheduling anomalies.
North London Derby FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. April 28, 2024 at 2 pm UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Team News: Tottenham Arsenal FC
Starting XI Prediction: Arsenal FC Tottenham
Google Result Probability: Arsenal FC 50% Draw 24% Tottenham 26%
PL Position, Form Guide: Arsenal FC 1st, 74 pts, WLWWD Tottenham 5th, 60 pts, LWDWL
However, such is the case when
a.) you didn’t qualify for Europe and
b.) you exited early from both cup competitions this season. At this point, it’s almost like Spurs need to remind us that they’re still playing ball this season! Of course, their last outing, 10 days ago from the time of this writing, went AWFUL.
Tottenham got routed 4-0 at the hands of sixth place Newcastle, and now they will be anxious to put that L behind them, and create some positive momentum.
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Arsenal FC
Guglielmo Vicario; Emerson Royal, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma; Timo Werner, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski; Heung Min-Son
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.