Kane and Aubameyang spearhead Tottenham and Arsenal combined XI
Hardly a straight shootout between two teams chasing a top four finish as we have seen in recent seasons, that shouldn't take away any of the shine on the North London Derby. Tottenham sit one point and two places behind Arsenal ahead of this afternoon's clash, the first at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The two teams have switched managers since their 2-2 draw at the Emirates back in September, with Jose Mourinho succeeding Mauricio Pochettino for Spurs and Mikel Arteta now at the Gunners helm. With the games coming thick and fast, the two managers may elect to chop and change their best XI as we take a look at the best rated combined XI of the two teams, excluding injured and suspended players.
There aren't any particularly glaring omissions from either side as the two teams' star strikers spearhead the attack. Indeed, Harry Kane (7.20) is seeking to become the outright top scorer in the history of the North London Derby having already scored 10 league goals against Arsenal and partners Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (7.04) on the frontline. Aubameyang has his sights set on the Golden Boot and comes into today's clash two goals behind Jamie Vardy having struck for the 20th time this season in the 1-1 draw with Leicester.
In the middle of the park, Arteta's recent preferred central midfield pairing of Dani Ceballos (6.88) and Granit Xhaka (6.77) features, while club-record capture Nicolas Pepe (7.12) takes up a place on the right flank. The Ivorian is again available after his partner recently went into labour and he'll hope to cap the birth of his child with a goal.
The hightest rated player between the two teams is Son Heung-Min (7.23) and he completes the midfield on the left flank. The South Korean has gone two games without a goal contribution and he'll be out to end that run in the North London Derby. It's an all Ivorian right flank as Serge Aurier (7.14) takes his place at right-back, while Bukayo Saka (6.72) stars at left-back in this combined XI.
At the heart of the defence are two players who haven't featured with great regularity in recent months. Sokratis (6.82) hasn't started a league game since Premier League football resumed last month, with his only appearance coming as a late sub in Arsenal's 2-1 FA Cup win at Sheffield United. Jan Vertongen (6.83) made his first post-lockdown start against Bournemouth last time out and put in a man of the match display as Spurs played out a 0-0 draw with the Cherries.
The Belgian is expected to leave the club at the end of the season, but he showed there is life in the old dog yet with a stand out display on the south coast, though it remains to be seen whether that was enough to keep his place in the side for the welcome of Arsenal. Hugo Lloris (6.98) rounds off the XI between the sticks, with his rating better than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League this season.
