This weekend's North London Derby could prove decisive in terms of Tottenham and Arsenal's ambitions come the end of the 2023/24 season. For Ange Postecoglou's side, a win is a must as they look to close in on Aston Villa in the battle for Champions League football.
Currently six points behind Villa but crucially having two games in hand, Spurs could potentially trail Unai Emery's team by a further three points by the time the North London Derby kicks off as the Midlands club are in action on Saturday evening. Arsenal are also in desperate need of the points as they challenge for the Premier League title.
Currently top of the pile with five games left to play due to their superior goal difference, Arsenal's position in the standings could be slightly different come 2pm on Sunday as the Gunners, Liverpool and Man City all have midweek fixtures and the Reds' game this weekend is on Saturday afternoon. Heading into the derby showdown, Postecoglou has some big decisions to make in regards to his team. football.london takes a look below at some of the dilemmas facing the Australian.
The first decision Postecoglou has to make is selecting Destiny Udogie's replacement for the Arsenal fixture. The Italian left-back will play no part in the remainder of Spurs' season after undergoing surgery on a quadriceps injury sustained in training.
Ben Davies will perhaps be leading the way to start at left-back in place of Udogie given that is his natural position. Postecoglou also has Emerson Royal to consider as the Brazilian has played in the role on a handful of occasions this season.
One wildcard option available to the boss is to play Micky van de Ven there, although that would mean breaking up his impressive partnership with Cristian
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