Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal do battle on Saturday afternoon in the latest Premier League North London Derby.
Both sides come into the game in a good position in the table with the Gunners on top and Spurs unbeaten in the competition so far this season and just a point behind their rivals in third place. Now Antonio Conte and Mikel Arteta will name their sides for their second duel in the dugouts after Tottenham's 3-0 win at home at the end of last season which began to turn the tide between the two clubs and led to Spurs eventually beating Arsenal into fourth place.
We asked our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold and football.london boss Lee Wilmot to name the Spurs starting XIs they would choose for the derby.
READ MORE: Antonio Conte discusses his Tottenham contract and not wanting to 'push club about situation'
Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent
Conte was being cagey when football.london asked him about injuries on Thursday with Spurs having a number of players suffering knocks on international duty. That means any predictions about the line-up can be tricky, but the Italian was more forthcoming about switching the potential of switching to a 3-5-2 rather than his usual 3-4-3 at Spurs, admitting it is something he is considering although he also stated he could use it against Arsenal or in the matches afterwards during this 13-game run before the World Cup.
Dejan Kulusevski is an injury doubt after feeling a tight hamstring following his international duty with Sweden, while Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies and Lucas Moura have all been on the injury list in recent weeks and Conte was not giving any clues away about their availability.
If Kulusevski is not passed fit then a 3-5-2 could make sense to match up Arsenal in the midfield rather than playing the admittedly in-form Richarlison alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in a 3-4-3. If Davies is not available then Clement Lenglet will likely continue on the left of the back three with Emerson Royal returning at right wing-back.
Gold's team: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bissouma, Bentancur, Perisic; Kane, Son.
Lee Wilmot - Head of Football
Will Dejan Kulusevski and Hugo Lloris be fit for the North London Derby? They are the two big questions ahead of what is a massive clash with Arsenal for Tottenham.
Fraser Forster was the scourge of Arsenal when at Southampton last season and has a formidable record against the Gunners, but I wouldn't want to throw him in for his Spurs debut on such a big occasion.
If we're expecting Lloris to be fit, ahead of him should be the trio of Eric Dier, Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet.
Then I think I'd match up to Arsenal with a trio in the middle - Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, with Ivan Perisic and Emerson Royal as the wing-backs.
That leaves two positions and I'm inclined to see Harry Kane and Richarlison as a two to start with, with Son Heung-min hopefully deadly from the bench using his pace against the Gunners in the second half.
Wilmot's team: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Bissouma, Perisic; Kane, Richarlison.
READ NEXT:
- Antonio Conte's contract situation with Tottenham explained and how it affects Juventus links
Fabio Paratici appoints ex-Real Madrid scout as Spurs' new-look backroom structure takes shape
- Destiny Udogie surprise, Winks uncertainty, Rodon shines, Ndombele goal - Tottenham loan latest
- What happened when the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium paid tribute to the Queen and new King
- The Tottenham line-up and formation Antonio Conte must use to beat Arsenal in North London Derby
