North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal collide in one of the biggest derbies in recent memory on Saturday lunchtime, with both clubs aiming to bounce back from surprise midweek defeats.

The duo sit second and third in the table and both missed the chance to close the gap to Leicester City on Wednesday after the Foxes could only draw at home to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night.

Spurs

Mauricio Pochettino's side travelled to nearby West Ham United for a highly-anticipated derby on a six-game winning streak in the Premier League but were outfought and struggled, especially in the first half, against the Hammers' high tempo and pressure.

West Ham's players said after a 1-0 win that they had beaten Spurs at their own game and all eyes will be on White Hart Lane tomorrow lunchtime to see if Spurs can respond and prove their mettle having missed the chance to go top in midweek.

They have won four of their last five league games at White Hart Lane, but all four of those wins came against sides currently in the bottom half and they lost to Leicester in the other match on January 13.

Pochettino might be glad that his side kick off the weekend's action so that they have as much rest as possible before their mouthwatering trip to Europa League favourites Borussia Dortmund for the first leg of their last-16 tie on Thursday.

Masked man Harry Kane was one of the club's underperformers at the Boleyn Ground on Wednesday, squandering multiple chances in the second half, but he is confident that he and his teammates will bounce back against the Gunners.

He has good reason to believe so as well, having scored 13 goals in 17 Premier League London derbies and three in two Premier League appearances against Arsenal.

Recent Premier League form: WWWWWL
Recent form (all competitions): WDLWWL

Arsenal

There was plenty of love from Arsenal fans for their players on Valentine's Day when Danny Welbeck's last-gasp header saw them topple Leicester, but since then it has been all downhill for Arsene Wenger's outfit.

They failed to beat Hull City at home in the FA Cup fifth round and will need a replay next week away at the KC Stadium, and they have gone on to lose the three games in all competitions since - the first time in almost six years that they have done so.

Should they make it four defeats in a row on Saturday it would be the first time since October 2002.

In the league, the Gunners have won just two of their last eight Premier league away games (D3, L3), but it was at home where they suffered a stunning loss on Wednesday night as Swansea City, previously without a win in four, fought back from a goal down to win 2-1 at the Emirates.

It came after a 3-2 defeat to a weakened Manchester United side on Sunday and the Gunners' readiness for a gritty title charge has been questioned by many, with former United and England midfielder Paul Scholes claiming that Wenger's men do not have "the bottle or balls" for the big occasion.

However, Arsenal have taken the most points from the head to heads between this season's top four (10), while Spurs have eight.

Wednesday's loss to Swansea was made worse just before the final whistle when Petr Cech went up for a corner and pulled his hamstring trying to get back into position, with the Czech keeper now expected to miss around a month of action.

Even Arsenal's star forward Alexis Sanchez has admitted that he and his teammates have lacked a "certain hunger". The Chilean has flattered to deceive of late, failing to score a league goal for 11 matches since October, with his only goal in his last 10 appearances in all competitions coming against Championship side Burnley in the FA Cup.

Recent Premier League form: LDWWLL
Recent form (all competitions): WWDLLL

Team News

Cech's injury is a huge blow to Wenger and Arsenal, who will now start David Ospina between the sticks for the next month or so.

Laurent Koscielny also missed Swansea's visit with a calf strain and he will again be absent on Saturday, so Gabriel will keep his place despite some shaky recent performances.

Further forward, Wenger must decide whether to play Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott as the main striker, while midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla remain out.

Spurs have a much cleaner bill of health and may be able to welcome back Moussa Dembele from a groin problem.

Dele Alli is also expected to start having only made the substitutes' bench at West Ham, meaning that centre-back Jan Vertonghen is the only first-team regular unavailable for Pochettino.

Spurs possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Eriksen, Alli, Chadli; Kane

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Monreal; Ramsey, Coquelin; Campbell, Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud

Head To Head

Mathieu Flamini helped Arsenal to a 2-1 win in this season's first meeting in the League Cup before Spurs dominated the reverse league fixture at the Emirates only to be pegged back late on after Kane's first-half opener.

Tottenham have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games against the Gunners at White Hart Lane (W4 D2 L1), but the Gunners are chasing two wins away at Spurs in the same season for the first time since 1986-87.

Arsenal have scored exactly one goal in each of their last six Premier League games against Spurs and each of the last four trips to White Hart Lane.

A home clean sheet seems unlikely given that Arsenal have scored in 41 of their last 42 meetings with Tottenham Hotspur in all competitions.

This fixture is the most common in Premier League history to see the team scoring first not going on to win (14 draws and eight comeback wins).

The Dugout Podcast

Hit play below to listen to Sports Mole's new podcast 'The Dugout' for our take on the week's biggest football talking points:

[On this PAGE an item was removed from that AMP version click for the full mobile version.]

We say: Spurs 2-1 Arsenal

It should be a deafening atmosphere at White Hart Lane and that might just help Spurs get past their arch-rivals and top of the table for a few hours at least.