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2. Tottenham vs Arsenal
Two consecutive losses have meant that Tottenham, who a week back were one of the title contenders, have now regressed back to the mean - or in other words, the race for a top 4 spot. As the wheels of the Spurs bandwagon start coming off, they sit five points clear of United in 5th place, meaning a top four finish is no certainty. This clearly isn’t the best time to meet their most bitter rivals.
Arsenal have had struggles of their own against top 6 opposition this season. They have already lost to City, Liverpool, United and Chelsea in this league campaign. However, they have done enough in their other matches, to be currently 4th, four points behind Spurs.
Winning this derby will get them to within a point of 3rd place, which is what Unai Emery will be aiming for. Top 3 finish in your first season in such a competitive league is a very good result for any manager - more so when your club had finished outside the top 4 in their last 2 seasons.
As for Pochettino, he can ill-afford to cede ground now, else the hype that surrounds him will cool off a bit. Having made no fresh signings in the last two transfer windows, he can give a justifiable argument for not being able to compete with City or Liverpool. But if Spurs finish outside of the top 4, his contentious reputation of being an exceptional manger and a potential Manchester United target, is likely to take a big hit.
