Cartilage Free Captain

Things have gone from bad to worse for Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs have only won a single match since their demolition of Manchester City back in November, and fans must be wondering what sort of burnt offering sacrifice Ange Postecoglou made to the Football Gods to achieve that result, given the carnage since. Perhaps said Football Gods are a fan of hamstrings and knees?

They now take on Everton, in a similar freefall down the Premier League ladder, in a match that is key for both sides. While not exactly the fabled “relegation six-pointer” mentioned in the lede, Spurs are starting to get closer to that zone (with Everton well ensconced within it) and the news this week of more injuries to Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, and perhaps most importantly, Dominic Solanke, means that for some, the threat of relegation starts to become more than just an offhand joke.

Spurs need to start winning some matches and fast. Could today be one of those?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Everton vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Goodison Park, Liverpool, UK

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Time: 9:00 a.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. UK

TV: USA Network, Sky Sports Premier League (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: nbcsports.com

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They’re bad and they get us in trouble. Violators will be warned or banned.

We have rules against “relentless negativity.” Nobody likes a Negative Nancy. Don’t knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you’re frustrated.

Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

Finally, while we don’t have a rule against profanity, please try and keep the naughty words in check. Also, language that is sexist, racist, transphobic, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you will be immediately banned. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun, and COYS!

I don’t know how to quite break this to all of you. You know that injury crisis that Spurs have been working through for the past several months? Well, it’s gotten worse. Multiple reports, including Sami Mockbel at the Daily Mail, are now reporting that Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke has sustained a knee injury in training and has been ruled out for the Everton match tomorrow... and possibly much more.

Mokbel’s report is cautious and doesn’t really go into specifics of the injury or how long Big Dom might be out, but there are other, uh, less reputable sources that are suggesting he could miss “at least six weeks.” Mokbel says Ange Postecoglou will provide an update tomorrow before the match.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

On the one hand, we probably should’ve seen this coming. Dom’s played 2200 minutes ALREADY this season in all competitions, and it’s only January 18. We’ve been riding him into the ground because we kind of had to — there wasn’t really anyone else available. On the other hand, this royally sucks blue whale (the largest animal to exist on planet Earth).

It’s a good thing Richarlison is back from his injury, as he’s instantly elevated to starting striker, beginning tomorrow. I also now wonder whether this means that the proposed loan for Will Lankshear will be scrapped.

God. This season needs a hard reset.

Wednesday’s loss to Arsenal was neither unexpected nor unusual. Tottenham Hotspur is now winless in its past five league fixtures and has lost six of its last eight. Even after witnessing this kind of slump week after week, it remains difficult to grasp how things have spiraled so drastically. As a result, Spurs enter the weekend tied for 14th place, just eight points clear of the relegation zone.

While the odds of Tottenham actually being drawn into a relegation battle are minimal, Everton finds itself well within the fray. The Toffees have finished between 15th and 17th in each of the past three seasons and are entrenched in the same territory this year. Once combatants for Europa League qualification, Sunday’s fixture now features two clubs far removed from the country’s top sides.

Everton (16th, 17pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (14th, 24pts)

Date: Sunday, January 19

Time: 9:00 am ET, 2:00 pm UK

Location: Goodison Park, Liverpool

TV: USA Network (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)

Everton’s form is on par with Spurs’, with three consecutive league losses following a run of three consecutive draws, though those points were split with Arsenal, Chelsea, and City. These six fixtures had a combined score line of 1-5, indicating little action on either end of the pitch. The Toffees did pick up a win in the FA Cup last week, however, over Peterborough United, who sits near the bottom of the League One table.

Tottenham’s 4-0 win in the reverse fixture back in August feels like a distant anomaly. Yves Bissouma, Cristian Romero, and Heung-min Son (twice) found the net, but that would be the only victory from the season’s first four weeks. The two sides now meet at Goodison Park, where Spurs have not won since December 2018. The scorers that day? Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Son, and Harry Kane.

Bottoming out

All that truly matters this season, aside from steering clear of relegation, are the cup competitions, where Tottenham still has a real chance to succeed. No individual league fixture holds significant weight at this point, and none should take precedence over the Europa League or other cup campaigns. However, Ange Postecoglou, and really the entire organization, is getting dangerously close to a point where the vibes may become irreparable.

A match against a struggling team like Everton, who sits even lower in the table than Tottenham, must not be another missed opportunity. Spurs have already stumbled against the league’s worst multiple times this season, but failing to capitalize here would be a disaster given the context. Everton’s attack has managed just one goal in the last six matches — find a way to bag a goal or two, play some defense, and prevent their season from sinking further into despair.

Futureee

One silver lining of this tumultuous season has been the emergence of Tottenham’s younger talents. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have exceeded expectations for teenagers, particularly given the challenging environment around them. Antonin Kinsky and Radu Dragusin are showing potential as well, while Destiny Udogie and Pape Sarr continue to impress in their early 20s. These players are poised to form the core of the club’s future, and giving them meaningful minutes now is hugely beneficial.

At times, injuries have forced these players into action, but they have often looked like some of the best options regardless of availability. Even if that is not the case, the Premier League fixtures are where Postecoglou should be deploying the youth from here on out. Bergvall, in particular, stands out as a key player to watch. Everton will be disciplined in defense — allowing under a goal per match over the past six — and while making Bergvall responsible for unlocking the attack is a tall order, he has shown as much intent as anyone with the ball. It might seem unfair to put this burden on him, but nothing is really going to plan this season anyway.

Nobody likes a North London Derby loss, but that’s what we got on Wednesday. (Also — a NLD on a Wednesday? That blows. Who schedules these things?) Tottenham Hotspur went to the Emirates, a place where they haven’t won in the league since 2010, and came home empty handed once again. Son Heung-Min put Spurs ahead with a deflected shot, but Spurs conceded two goals in four minutes, one of which came on the back of a blown out-of-bounds call, and the other from a stupid giveaway in midfield.

We’re all mad about it, and it’s fine because it sucks to lose to Arsenal in any circumstance, but I’m not sure it moves the needle one way or another on the season as a whole. Arsenal are, quite frankly, just flat-out better than Spurs this season and it’s okay to admit it. But yeah, it blows.

Today’s theme is one I’ve been working on for a while. I’ve been somewhat fascinated by the music that content creators select for the backgrounds of football highlight videos since I’ve started as a fan. I’ll be honest and say that the people making highlight videos generally have a pretty shitty taste in music, so a lot of times the videos are better on mute. But every so often you get someone who bucks the trend and starts something that is pretty both on the eyes and the ears. The problem is actually FINDING these videos.

Here are your Tottenham Hotspur player ratings for the North London Derby to the theme of music in the background of football highlights videos.

Yeah, I’m biased. But I mean, nothing will ever top this. The best synergy between song and content I’ve ever seen. I’m not even a Florence vs. the Machine fan, but every time I watch this video I want to run through a brick wall. If you haven’t watched this video from the 2009-10 Champions League qualifying season, you need to.

No Tottenham players in this category.

If you’re making a football highlights video you want something that’s interesting but not obnoxious. I think chillhop/lofi beats are about the ideal genre.

No Tottenham players in this category.

I’m a professional musician and have my biases, but even so pairing Lionel Messi dribbling videos with Antonin Vivaldi’s “Summer” concerto is a pretty good fit. Putting together two virtuosi — Messi and Vivaldi — just works.

Lucas Bergvall (Community — 3.5): Continues to improve with each match. If there’s one positive from this season’s injury crisis it’s that Spurs’ young players are getting match minutes desperately needed to acclimate them to Premier League football. This will pay dividends.

Archie Gray (Community — 3.5): God, this kid just is unflappable. Is he... just a central defender now? His composure on the ball is impressive for a kid his age. He’s going to end up being a Swiss army knife for Spurs.

Djed Spence (Community — 3.5): Mostly kept Raheem Sterling contained, and looked like one of Tottenham’s brightest players on the day. I wish he’d have gotten forward a little more, but I suspect that was coaching.

Look, Creed’s not really my thing, but they’re at least a popular band. Could be worse? Yes, it absolutely could be worse. See below.

Antonin Kinsky (Community — 2.5): For the first time we maybe saw a glimpse of the flaws in Kinsky’s game. Was caught out of position for Arsenal’s second goal (though it took a wicked skip just in front of him). Dealt with Arsenal’s press well, passed pretty well, but maybe he was caught a bit off guard by the moment at times.

Radu Dragusin (Community — 2.5): He was okay, but you could tell that Arsenal were really trying to key in on him, especially in the press. Involved in Arsenal’s equalizing goal but not a ton he could do about it. His lack of comfort with the ball at his feet really hampers Spurs’ buildup.

James Maddison (Community — 2.5): Was immediately one of Tottenham’s key players when he came on at halftime, but much of the stuff he was trying didn’t come off. That said, I thought he was okay.

Ange Postecoglou (Community — 2.5): Maybe got the lineup wrong this time, but credit for making significant adjustments at halftime to at least try stuff.

This is a wide genre that could be good and could be bad depending on which direction you take it. In this case, I would not recommend setting a highlights video to the soundtrack of “Requiem for a Dream,” a movie about teenage drug addicts that ends with one character driven to abusive sex work, another catatonic, and another suffering a limb amputation.

Pedro Porro (Community — 2.5): Not one of his better matches, especially on the defensive end where he was given a torrid time by Odegaard. But, it should be noted that he looks absolutely exhausted, and for good reason. Hopefully gets rested for Everton.

Pape Sarr (Community — 2.5): You’d have thought this would have been a good matchup for him, but he was pretty ineffective. Subbed off at halftime.

Dejan Kulusevski (Community — 2.5): We needed Deki at his best. He... was not. I think that has a lot to do with Arsenal’s defense, but also the guy needs a rest.

Son Heung-Min (Community — 2.5): OK, yes he scored, but that’s about the sum of his contributions in this one. I feel for him. I like him a lot. I think he’s exhausted and is at least temporarily cooked.

I would hazard a guess to say that this genre makes up about 75-80% of all football highlight videos, and of those almost all of them invariably suck.

Yves Bissouma (Community — 2.0): Put in some tackles, but his decision to try and dribble two Arsenal players directly led to Trossard’s go-ahead goal. Hooked at halftime, which says a lot.

Brennan Johnson (Community — 2.0): This was not a good game for him due to Arsenal’s bunkered defense, so he never really had a chance. Infuriating, however, to see him mostly jogging around the pitch in the second half.

Dominic Solanke (Community — 2.5): A real off game for him. No, he wasn’t getting much service from the midfield or the wingers, but he also struggled to hold on to the ball and his hold-up play, one of his strengths, was practically non-existent.

chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE womp-womp-womp-womp-waaaaaaaaaaaaa *feedback noise*

No Tottenham players were as bad as the ubiquitous highlight videos set to bad dubstep music.

Tom Carroll Memorial Non-Rating

Good news, everyone — Gentle Ben is back! Ange Postecoglou confirmed in his pre-match press conference, which is still going on at the time of this posting, that the longest-tenured player at the club, Ben Davies, has recovered from his injury and is available for selection for Sunday’s match against Everton.

But there is bad news — in that same statement, he also noted that Yves Bissouma and Brennan Johnson are both either nursing knocks or are “sore” from the midweek North London Derby loss, and are questionable for the trip to Goodison Park. Ange also confirmed that Timo Werner, who sustained a hamstring injury last week vs. Tamworth, will be out for about a month.

“[There’s a] couple still sore from midweek. Looking to see how Brennan [Johnson] is, he’s had a calf complaint, and [Yves Bissouma] is a bit sore. Ben Davies should be involved. Timo [Werner] has got a hamstring tweak, probably three to four weeks.”

It does sometimes feel like Spurs are on a one step forward, two steps back kind of path this season, at least with regards to injuries. Yes, it’s fantastic that Davies has returned as he’s been steady and solid when called upon this season, and bringing him in alongside Radu Dragusin would allow Archie Gray to shift to left back, giving Pedro Porro a breather. But losing Brennan Johnson and/or Yves Bissouma would be a real kicker, especially since Rodrigo Bentancur is still out under concussion protocol.

Tottenham are already without Bentancur, Guglielmo Vicario, Cuti Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, and Timo Werner. Add in the potential absences of Johnson and Bissouma and it brings the number of first team players unavailable to Ange back up to nine. Just can’t seem to catch a break, can we?

Ange also spoke about the January transfer window, a notoriously difficult time to enhance your football club, but also one where incoming transfers would significantly help Tottenham as they continue to deal with their injury and fixture congestion crisis. Asked if he was “frustrated” by the lack of incomings, Postecoglou said that despite only bringing in a goalkeeper this month, the club is working hard in the window and that he understands this is a difficult period.

“It’s not frustration. It would be frustration and disappointment if the club weren’t working hard, but they are. It’s an easy word to say but I know how hard the club have been working behind the scenes to get something done, but it’s not easy. You need agreement from three different parties.

“Sometimes, when you’re in our situation, other clubs realize that and try to make the most of it. That’s why I was delighted to get [Antonin Kinsky] in fairly early. That’s helped us for sure, but it’s not for the want of trying so I accept that and I’m not disappointed or frustrated. I’m actually pleased at how hard the club is working.”

Ange was also asked about the failed loan bid for PSG winger Randal Kolo Muani, a player Spurs were interested in but who eventually chose Juventus. Ange suggested that things weren’t nearly as close in that transfer deal as we were led to believe.

“We’ve been interested and looking at a number of players but were we ever at the stage where we thought he was coming to us? No.”

Spurs are in the early slot for Sunday’s Premier League tie against Everton. Kick-off is at 9 a.m. ET, 2 p.m. UK. The match is televised on USA and Sky Sports.

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Fitzie’s Film and TV reviews, where your hoddler-in-chief reviews some things he’s recently seen at home and in the cinema.

Rose Matafeo On and On and On and On: I’ll admit I’m about four months into a Taskmaster kick, and I’m eagerly awaiting Series 19. Rose Matafeo’s latest standup special is a hilarious watch as the Kiwi comedian turns a 16,000-word note into a solid two-hour set focusing on her relationships.

James Acaster Hecklers Welcome: On the contrary, this one didn’t do it for me. I love James Acaster and enjoyed his previous specials. The reviews were mixed for this too, but I read that some of his shows on this tour - where he encourages heckling - are pretty insane.

So I think this particular standup just chose a bad night, and from the cutaways to some of his other shows I wondered what I missed. I love the premise and most of the jokes, but it didn’t quite deliver this time.

Fly Me To The Moon: A solid rom-com parodying the moon landing conspiracy. It’s an easy watch starring Scarlet Johansson and Channing Tatum. And it’s pretty fun to look at too.

Squid Game 2: Series 2 of Squid Game feels largely incomplete. Series 3 is coming out later this year, but we have to judge S2 as it stands. It’s a pretty slow start, the ending doesn’t deliver and almost every single character feels less fleshed out than in the first series.

The best thing this one has going for it is we don’t have to see anyone performing ungodly acts on cookies.

Cunk on Life: Philomena Cunk is back at it! Part of this review is my fault, because I thought it was a series as opposed to a film (or parody on a doc). There are some truly great jokes in here and terrific one-liners, but it gets pretty tedious about halfway through.

My Old Ass: A unique coming-of-age story where Aubrey Plaza plays the much older version of her younger self, except that both of them are real and exist in real time. It’s got a lovely message on how to experience life and its mysteries.

The Iron Claw: This tragic film follows the Von Erich family, particularly Kevin Von Erich (played by Zach Efron). Three of the brothers are absolutely ripped, but their muscles are portrayed less as something to objectify and more as a grotesque sacrifice that they make to help fulfil their father’s dreams.

Anyone familiar with the Von Erich family knows how this ends, which is largely in tragedy. But the film does a delicate job in getting us there.

Saturday Night: An easy-to-watch film on the birth of Saturday Night Live that further mythologises its creater Lorne Michaels. Like SNL, it’s a chaotic piece that runs at 1 hour and 50 minutes.

While Lorne Michaels is seen carrying the shoulders of this troupe, it’s the Chevy Chase and John Beluschi who steal the spotlight (of course they do). Just wish we got a bit more Beluschi, but maybe that’s the point.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, by Bob Dylan

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold’s talking points from Tottenham’s defeat to Arsenal

Jay Harris ($$): “Ange Postecoglou, form that ‘can’t be accepted by anyone’ and where it leaves the Tottenham coach”

Dan KP: “Ange Postecoglou position precarious with Spurs season hanging on cups”

Telegraph: “Ange Postecoglou’s record is indefensible – his job should be at risk”

The Guardian: “In Ange we trust? Why Spurs should risk potential failure and back Postecoglou”

As it is after every loss, the calls for Ange Postecoglou’s head reached an even higher decibel level after last night’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the North London Derby. But according to Alasdair Gold at Football.London, the NLD defeat hasn’t changed Daniel Levy or the Spurs brass’ backing of the manager.

Buried at the bottom of a super long article about last night’s match, Gold writes that Spurs maintain that Postecoglou is the correct manager for the club at this point and time, and that there is sympathy for the context of the team’s poor run of form considering the injury situation and Tottenham still competing in four competitions.

“football.london understands that Postecoglou retains the full backing of those within the club with an understanding of what he’s battling through right now. Spurs are believed to be trying to put in the right structures and people around him to ensure that the Australian can succeed and compete for trophies once the squad comes through this period.”

— Alasdair Gold, football.london

I don’t think any of us should be surprised by this. After all, the club has already briefed the media that Postecoglou is still supported at the club by both the players and club leadership. Spurs lost a narrow match away to their arch-rivals who are challenging for the Premier League title. It was always going to be a challenging match, and both the injury and fixture congestion situation hasn’t really changed. It’s really difficult to see how this result moves the needle one way or another with regards to Postecoglou’s job status.

good morning!

There’s no such thing as a bad pizza, or so I thought.

I recently had the worst pizza of my life. A pizza so bad that I had to share it in the hoddle. I won’t say which restaurant served this because I don’t want to have any negative impact on them, but I was surprised.

It’s a nice restaurant that’s always busy and it smells incredible. But that’s where it ended.

The pizza I ordered had on it porcini mushrooms, pork cheek, stracchino cheese, EVOO, black pepper and rosemary.

It sounded promising, and the crust itself was quite nice. But the rest - not good. Not good at all.

The texture was probably the worst part. Soft on soft on soft. The mushrooms wereb seriously overcooked to the point of being mush - literal mush. And when you put that on top of a creamy cheese, it becomes way too soft to the point where the pizza lacks any texture.

I thought the pork cheek would add some nice texture and salty elements to it, but there was so little of it on the pizza. And the small bits I did get were too small to offset the softness of the mushrooms or cheese in any way. The rosemary did add some freshness to the pizza, but it couldn’t save it on its own.

I contemplated sending it back because as I kept eating it I felt like I was going to be physically sick from it. Instead I powered through, treating what was supposed to be a nice meal as a test of my gastrointestinal fortitude. I passed.

And now here I am, sharing the worst pizza of my life. Will I try this place again? Probably. There are a few things I wouldn’t go for. Certainly nothing with the porcini mushrooms. And I’m glad I didn’t order anything with truffle oil, although the smell of it was quite sickening (adding to my terrible experience).

And to think I almost went to Pupatella instead.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Epipen, by Beloved Binge

And now for your links:

Dan KP: “Angry Ange Postecoglou slams Spurs as ‘nowhere near good enough’ in Arsenal defeat”

Jack P-B ($$): “Why Arteta and Postecoglou adopted opposing football philosophies”

Jonathan Liew: “What’s the reality of this Tottenham team, supremely unlucky or unforgivably naive?”

Filed under:

Tottenham Hotspur Match Reports

Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham: more single-goal heartbreak at the Emirates

Another match where Spurs don’t get the points they deserve.

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It’s been 15 years since Tottenham Hotspur has beaten Arsenal in league play at the Emirates Stadium. That streak continued today. Son Heung-Min put Spurs ahead in the first half of the North London Derby, but Arsenal got two goals — one controversial own goal from Dominic Solanke after a wrongly-awarded corner kick, and another from Leandro Trossard, and the hosts held on to take the 2-1 win.

Tottenham’s starting lineup only featured one major surprise: Lucas Bergvall got the start in midfield over James Maddison, who began the NLD on the bench. The young Swede lined up beside Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr, with Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, and Son Heung-Min making up the forward line. Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray anchored the back line, with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence as the fullbacks. New signing Antonin Kinsky started between the sticks. Richarlison, freshly back from a hamstring injury, was named to the bench.

The match started off scary with Arsenal employing a frightening early press that kept Spurs pinned back, but Tottenham found their foothold, and played Arsenal pretty even over the course of the match. A draw was probably the deserved result today, but once again Spurs were the losers in a narrowly-decided affair, as Arsenal did the double over Tottenham in league play.

Here are my match reactions.

Match Reactions

Another match where we played a good team more or less even and lost by one goal thanks to some really crappy luck. I’ve seen this movie so many times this season. I think we’re now 0-10 in matches decided by one goal. I don’t think we deserved to win today, but I definitely think we deserved a draw.

The opening 20 minutes of this match was pure terror. Just nothing but last-ditch defending and peeking-from-behind-the-couch moments on numerous set pieces. Irritated that we didn’t seem to have a plan for preventing Set Piece FC from doing what they do best, though we did mostly handle those moments well.

Kinsky is a maniac with the ball at his feet, and I think I’m in love with him.

I was really worried about Pedro Porro after he appeared to hyper-extend his knee after getting turned by Trossard. The replay looked pretty bad, but it seems that was, in the words of one of my colleagues, just Pedro being “embarrassed and Spanish”.

Considering how much one-way traffic it was in Arsenal’s favor for the first 20 minutes, I absolutely love that Sonny scored the opener on a deflected shot off Saliba. Just glorious.

Djed Spence had a rough time of it in the first half, looked really uncomfortable for much of it, but had that one cross towards Solanke that was immaculate.

Pisses me off that Set Piece FC’s equalizer comes off of a horrible missed call that granted them a phantom corner. Wish VAR would look at those because those kinds of situations get miscalled all the time and you’d think the league would want to get them right.

The second Arsenal goal is awful keeping from Kinsky, the first time we’ve really see him make a significant mistake with his positioning. But equal blame can go to Bissouma who had a pass available before the giveaway and instead tried to dribble through two Arsenal players. Kinsky had a couple of nervy moments, which I

Ange making two halftime subs is almost unprecedented without an injury, but Johnson and Maddison for Sarr and Bissouma is a bold and aggressive move. It meant, functionally, that Spurs didn’t really have a midfield, and it did prevent Spurs from building attacks the normal way from the back. Arsenal also were able to move through the midfield almost at will as Spurs weren’t able to really effectively press.

Dominic Solanke had a really poor match today — we needed him to be an outlet and to put away chances and he was neither. Same with Kulusevski — not sure if it’s tiredness or what, but he was just off his feed in this one and his hold-up play was practically non-existent.

Lucas Bergvall might have been our best player on the day. A real presence and also employed some dark arts to wind up Lewis-Skelly and others. Also impressed by the composure and play of Archie Gray. Is... is he just a CB now?

He didn’t do a ton, but it was sooooooooo nice to see Richarlison out there.

I still hate the NLD.

A North London Derby. A fixture always highly anticipated, oftentimes with equal mixtures of dread and excitement.

Make no mistake: this is a huge match in the context of this season. It’s been a Jekyll and Hyde one, and it’s hard to know which Tottenham Hotspur will show up. Will they delight, or disappoint? The usual caveats apply: injuries galore, exhaustion, and lack of continuity in the squad.

That said... is there a better time over the last couple of seasons to play Arsenal? They are suffering injury woes of their own, missing arguably their best player, and while defensively are an incredibly tough side to break down they have turned into a Tony Pulis side going forward this season.

Expect a cagey match - this is anyone’s game.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Emirates Stadium, London, UK

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Time: 3:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA, TNT Sports 1 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Peacock

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They’re bad and they get us in trouble. Violators will be warned or banned.

We have rules against “relentless negativity.” Nobody likes a Negative Nancy. Don’t knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you’re frustrated.

Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

Finally, while we don’t have a rule against profanity, please try and keep the naughty words in check. Also, language that is sexist, racist, transphobic, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you will be immediately banned. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun, and COYS!