Ten points separate Arsenal and Spurs on the English Premier League table with Spurs in the ascendency over their fiercest rivals. The second North London derby of the season takes place at The Emirates on Sunday and we examine a number of options available to punters.

Spurs go into this game in third place five points behind Manchester United who are in action at Norwich on Sunday and anything between seven and ten points behind Manchester City who host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Meanwhile Arsenal are looking to revive their season after crashing out of the FA cup at Sunderland last weekend and needing a minor miracle to turn around a four goal deficit against AC Milan in the second leg of their Champions League tie which takes place in early March. The Gunners will also go to Liverpool in the Premier League before they tackle Milan so this is the latest in a series of huge matches which up to now, they have been butchering. If there is a chink of light for Arsenal, they are back at The Emirates for the first time since the beginning of the month when they hammered Blackburn 7-1.

Arsenal have lost just one of the last 11 league matches in front of their own supporters, a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in their first Premier League home fixture of 2012. Of the other ten home games, eight have been won and two drawn although those wins all arrived against sides who are not challenging for European football next season. Newcastle, Manchester City and Chelsea must still visit the Emirates later in the season and those games will be crucial to their hopes of a top four finish. Eight of 12 league games staged here have been level at the break and Arsenal have failed to hit the target just once, a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in their first home fixture of the season.

Spurs will host Manchester United next weekend and they too are in the middle of a run of vital games. Recent away form has seen Spurs win just one of their last five Premier League road trips, a 2-0 win at Norwich to go alongside draws at Swansea (1-1) and Liverpool (0-0) and defeats at Stoke (2-1) and Manchester City (3-2). Spurs have three clean sheets from 12 away matches and have failed to score just twice. It's worth pointing out they were held 0-0 at Stevenage in the cup last weekend but it was a much changed side and they ought to finish the job at white Hart Lane. The Spurs team news will once again be interesting with Adebayor and van der Vaart amongst those facing a race against time to prove their fitness, watch the media for confirmation of their participation.

The first meeting between the sides this season saw Spurs come out on top 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Spurs won 3-2 on their last visit to the Emirates despite going into the break 2-0 down. Nine of the last ten North London derby's in the Premier League have seen backers of over 2.5 goals collect.

The Betting

Arsenal 14/10 BetXchange, World Sports Betting, Sportsbet, Voltbet

Draw 5/2 World Sports Betting

Spurs 19/10 BetXchange, Sportsbet, Voltbet, Hollywood

Selected Others

Half Time Result, Draw 13/10 World Sports Betting

Under 2.5 goals 11/10 World Sports Betting

Over 2.5 goals 15/20 BetXchange, Voltbet

Draw no Bet Arsenal 7/10 Sportingbet

Draw no Bet Spurs 5/4 Sportsbet

Half with most goals, 2^nd half 19/20 Hollywood

Odds are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change. Some bookmakers may not have priced up on all markets at the time of writing.

The Verdict

It's hard to guess where the bottom is for Arsenal right now and another defeat here would increase the growing discontent at the Emirates. However, recent home form gives Arsenal a chance against a Spurs side who have not been firing on all cylinders in recent away matches. That makes the match result market look tricky to me but there are a couple of stats calls to consider. The first is the half time draw based on Arsenal's record of going into the break in home games all square this season. The second comes from the head to head stats which point overwhelmingly towards over 2.5 goals. In the absence of confirmed team news and at the prices available, my preference is for the half time draw.

Bet: Half Time Result, Draw 13/10 World Sports Betting

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