Spurs v a*se

From BBC SPORT


Tottenham v Arsenal

Barclays Premier League
Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Wednesday, 14 April 2010 Kick-off: 2000 BST
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, local radio & live on Sky Sports 1
TEAM NEWS
Tottenham club captain Ledley King is confident about making a comeback against Arsenal after a seven-week absence with a thigh injury.
Wilson Palacios begins a two-match ban, while fellow midfielder Niko Kranjcar is sidelined with an ankle injury.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed forward Robin van Persie will return to the squad exactly five months after rupturing ankle ligaments.
Alex Song hopes to recover from a knee problem in time to play.
Tottenham
Suspended: Palacios (two matches) Doubtful: King (thigh)
Injured: Cudicini (broken wrists), Jenas, Lennon & Woodgate (all groin), Kranjcar (ankle), Rose (knee)
Arsenal
Injured: Arshavin & Gallas (both calf), Djourou (knee), Fabregas & Ramsey (both leg), Gibbs (foot)
MATCH PREVIEW
There can be no more slip-ups. Michael Dawson's untimely tumble on the treacherous Wembley turf means this is now as much a season-defining fixture for Tottenham as it is for Arsenal.


If there is one antidote for Tottenham's FA Cup semi-final heartache, it is a first league win over Arsenal in a decade. It would keep them in contention for the fourth Champions League spot, as well as effectively ending their hated rival's title challenge.
However, it is the Gunners who have reason to feel the more confident. Quite apart from being fresher than their hosts, Arsenal have recent history on their side. Should they win or draw, they will set a club record of 21 consecutive top-flight matches without defeat against another team.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted his side must win their remaining five matches to have a chance of overhauling leaders Chelsea, who are three points ahead and with a superior goal difference. With victory the only option, Wenger could bring fit-again forward Robin van Persie back into his squad for his first match since November.
The match could also see the return of former Tottenham player-turned-pariah Sol Campbell, who has not played at White Hart Lane since October 2005. The intervening years have done nothing to lessen the antipathy towards him from the Spurs faithful, and the hostile environment will add to what promises to be a combustible encounter.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League meetings with Tottenham. It is the Gunners' joint longest top-flight unbeaten run against another team - they also went 20 matches without defeat against Huddersfield Town from April 1928 to September 1937.
• Spurs last beat their North London rivals in the league in November 1999; Sol Campbell was part of the side that won 2-1 at home. Seven of the subsequent nine meetings at White Hart Lane have been drawn.

• Tottenham did, however, thrash Arsenal 5-1 at home in the League Cup semi-final second leg in January 2008.


Tottenham
• Spurs had won five league matches in a row prior to their defeat by Sunderland last time out. They have not lost back-to-back league matches in six months.
• They are unbeaten in their last eight league matches at White Hart Lane, winning their last three. This is their second-longest unbeaten home run under Harry Redknapp - they went 13 home matches without defeat from December 2008 to August 2009.
• Tottenham have only conceded 10 league goals at home this season, fewer than any other club in the division.
• Vedran Corluka is poised to make his 100th Premier League start.
Arsenal
• The Gunners are unbeaten in their last eight league matches, earning 22 points out of a possible 24.
• They have scored in the last 10 minutes in each of their last seven league matches. In total, Arsenal have scored 17 league goals after the 80th minute this season, more than any other top-flight side.
• They have scored a stoppage-time winner in three of their last six league matches.
• The club have won all five league matches in which Nicklas Bendtner has scored this season.
LEADING GOALSCORERS

Tottenham
Defoe: 23 goals (17 league); Crouch: 12 goals (7 league)

Arsenal
Fabregas: 19 goals (15 league);
Arshavin: 11 goals (9 league); Bendtner: 11 goals (5 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant referees: Dave Bryan & Michael Murphy
Fourth official: Stuart Attwell
LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Tottenham (L1-3 v Sunderland, a): Gomes; K Walker, Kaboul, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto (Kranjcar 46), Bentley (Defoe 46), Palacios, Modric, Bale, Pavlyuchenko (Crouch 71), Gudjohnsen. Subs not used: Alnwick, Rose, Livermore, Dervite.
Arsenal (W1-0 v Wolves, h): Almunia; Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Eboue (Bendtner 64), Song (Nasri 71), Denilson, Walcott, Eduardo (Vela 79), Rosicky. Subs not used: Fabianski, Diaby, Clichy, Eastmond.