The weekend is here and the international break is over, which means it’s finally Premier League time! There’s not much more we could ask for since we are set to enjoy two derbies over the weekend. Plenty of expectation has been built around both fixtures in one of the most anticipated weekends of the 22-23 season.
North London Derby
On Saturday at lunch time (UK), the “North London Derby” is kicking off at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, current league leaders, will host their bitter rivals Tottenham, whom are breathing down the leader’s neck, sitting at third place of the competition just one point behind the Gunners.
The international break took its toll for Arsenal, a squad that is not well known for its depth. Three notable reports came into London Colney over the recess; Tomiyasu suffered a knock in Japan’s match against the USMNT, and the RB was asked to leave its national team camp and return to the club for evaluation. LB Kieran Tierney also left Scotland’s camp after injuring his head on UEFA Nations League match against Ireland. But the most worrisome injury was to one of the “Gunners” key players, Thomas Partey, since the Ghanaian has already struggled with injuries for a long time. No update has been given on any the mentioned players, but we would not count on any of the trio to make an appearance on Saturday.
Spurs seems to have survived the break without any setback on the injury front, but almost all of Antonio Conte’s starting XI got a call up for national duties, so Tottenham will need to go easy on the physical front, since playing at noon after a short turnaround can take its toll. Arsenal on the other hand will have several key players well rested, since Brazilian and English duos Jesus-Martinelli and Ramsdale-White didn’t get a call up to their national teams this recent break.
The “North London Derby” never fails to disappoint, we are expecting a lot of goals since both team always come into this particular fixture with extra motivation. Besides, taking a win on Saturday will give the victor a crucial push towards the end of the first half of the season.
Manchester Derby
If that wasn’t enough, on Sunday we have another blockbuster fixture. The city of Manchester will witness a new edition of the “Manchester Derby”. This time around, “The Citizens” will host on Etihad Stadium, their “fellow” neighbours, Manchester United.
City comes into this big game with the task of securing a win at home no matter the cost, since Pep Guardiola wants to jump into the top of the league as soon as possible. Currently, “The Citizenz” sit at 2nd place, just one point behind the leader. A favourable result on Saturday’s “North London Derby” could give City the chance to take the lead away from Arsenal, so Guardiola’s squad could be handed a golden opportunity over the weekend to do so.
The story since the beginning of the season for the home team has been the incredible form new signing Erling Haaland is going through. The Norwegian already has a mesmerizing 11 goals in the league after just 7 games, ( and 3 more in the UCL). So there’s nothing to suggest he will be stopped in his first derby at home.
United comes into the meeting playing the victim. Even though the “Red Devils” have improved, there is still plenty inconsistencies as the team does its best to adopt Ter Hag’s new system. Manchester United made a great effort at home against rivals Arsenal a month ago (3-1), but days later, they went on to lose their Europa League debut at home (0-1) against a very modest Real Sociedad squad in comparison to United’s “Big Name’s” squad. Reality is that this team has not had enough time to blend together, and sometimes its pretty clear not even their dutch manager has all the answers after a very short time at the helm. United has elite individualities in its squad, so they will certainly have a fighting chance, but this team will struggle to contain City’s firepower.
We can’t wait for all this to go down, so make sure you check out our Premier League Best Bets: Round 9 article which will feature our picks for both derbies.
