Tottenham take on bitter rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby this afternoon in Premier League action. The Lilywhites head into the clash two weeks removed from a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Newcastle while Arsenal have played four fixtures since then, with two defeats followed by two victories.

For Spurs, picking up three points will be vital to their European ambitions but, for Arsenal, their Premier League title hopes rely heavily on the clash. The Gunners currently sit top of the table, one point above Manchester City, and a win would open up a significant gap if only for a few hours before the reigning champions take on Nottingham Forest.

Considering the title implications, Tottenham wanting to benefit their own position while also damaging Arsenal's is certainly the aim with Ange Postecoglou offering his verdict on supporters wanting to beat Arsenal for reasons other than their own gain.

"Yeah, it’s fair enough," he admitted in a press conference. "And again I’m not going to dictate to fans what they feel and how they should feel. We understand the importance of the game and we understand the importance particularly at home in these kind of games against our biggest rival and in the biggest derby for us not letting our opponent get on top of us.

"So we understand the consequences of that but ultimately it’s still about us measuring ourselves against the teams we want to be challenging on a more consistent basis. And it’s a great opportunity to do that on Sunday." With injury concerns prominent and many players not in form, Postecoglou has several key decisions to make but a trio may have already hinted at three of those choices.

Pedro Porro, Rodrigo Bentancur and Emerson Royal have all posted pre-match graphics on Instagram, which is often once a player knows they will be involved in some capacity.

Following on from Destiny Udogie's injury blow, a replacement is needed at left-back with Emerson one of the candidates. However, Ben Davies seems a more natural option to fill in with Porro, following on from the injury he sustained against Newcastle, further backing up Postecoglou's claim he is available with a start very likely.

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