Spurs tackle Gunners Mauricio Pochettino

LONDON. – Tottenham host Arsenal at Wembley this weekend aiming to crush the optimism created by the Gunners’ new-look forward line while the absent Riyad Mahrez will be missed by both teams at the Etihad.

Elsewhere, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea welcome West Brom with the Italian manager’s job looking precarious following embarrassing back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Watford.

Leaders Manchester City host Leicester, who will again be without Mahrez after he failed to force through a move to the English Premier League leaders, while Manchester United travel to Newcastle and Southampton welcome back Virgil van Dijk in a Liverpool shirt.

Excitement coursed around the Emirates last weekend as Arsenal’s club-record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored on his debut and Henrikh Mkhitaryan conjured three assists in a 5-1 demolition of Everton.

A tougher task awaits at Wembley today against a high-flying Tottenham side, who have not lost in 11 games. Spurs are currently in fifth but would climb into third – at least temporarily – with victory and move seven points ahead of sixth-placed Arsenal.

Mauricio Pochettino’s squad looks in fine shape to handle the demands of three competitions in the coming months with the return of Erik Lamela, Victor Wanyama, Harry Winks and Serge Aurier from injury to complement the arrival of Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain.

“Now we are 24 players and it will be tough to find a place in the starting XI for everyone – 24 players that fight to be on the starting XI every single game,” said the upbeat Spurs boss.

Moura could make his Tottenham Hotspur debut in today’s Premier League game against Arsenal but manager Pochettino says he has tough decisions to make before selecting his team for the north London derby.

After sticking with the same starting line-up for the 2-0 victory over Manchester United and the 2-2 draw at Liverpool, Pochettino made 10 changes as Tottenham cruised into the FA Cup fifth round beating fourth-tier Newport County 2-0.

The Argentine is likely to ring in the changes again for the visit of sixth-placed Arsenal, with Brazilian midfielder Moura in line to make his debut after arriving in the January transfer window from French side Paris St Germain.

”I think he will be ready, maybe to be in contention for Saturday. He is doing well, training so hard and I think we need to assess him. After the last training session, I hope that he is still doing well and we can put him in contention,“ Pochettino said.

Toby Alderweireld is available after the Belgian defender returned to the team from a hamstring injury he picked up in November and played 90 minutes against Newport. Defender Danny Rose and midfielder Harry Winks are also fit, boosting the manager’s options. “It’s positive but it’ll be tough because we can’t put out more than 11 and seven on the bench,” Pochettino added.

“I am sure that many players will not be happy that they will be out but that is football, they understand the rules and always we are going to take the best decision for the team.”

Tottenham are fifth in the table with 49 points. Antonio Conte said he would not lose sleep over the possibility of losing his job following a 4-1 defeat at Watford and he has a great chance to turn the corner with a match against bottom club West Brom at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

Fixtures (all 5pm unless otherwise stated)

Today: Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal (2:30pm); Everton v Crystal Palace; Stoke v Brighton; Swansea v Burnley; West Ham v Watford; Manchester City v Leicester City (7:30pm).

Tomorrow: Huddersfield Town v Bournemouth (2pm); Newcastle United v Manchester United (4:15pm); Southampton v Liverpool (6:30pm).

Monday: Chelsea v West Brom (10pm). – AFP

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