Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.

Premier League statistical preview, including Tottenham vs Arsenal; Everton vs Liverpool; West Ham vs Manchester United

WhoScored.com, who offer the largest online database for detailed football statistics, preview the top matches the Premier League this weekend

Martin Laurence

Friday 06 February 2015 17:58 GMT

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal take on Tottenham in the north London derby (Getty Images)

Tottenham vs Arsenal

Kicking off the weekend's Premier League action in style, Tottenham host North London rivals Arsenal in Saturday's first fixture. With only two points and one place separating the sides there will be more than just local pride at stake when they meet at White Hart Lane. Both sides have reason to be optimistic, coming into the game off the back of handsome victories last weekend, and will be hoping their star turns can do the business once again this Saturday.

Spurs' saviours are becoming abundantly clear, with the ever-improving Harry Kane tending to get the ball rolling for Mauricio Pochettino's men before Christian Eriksen secures the three points right at the death. Interestingly, however, both have been more prolific on the road this season, with 13 of a combined 19 league strikes from Tottenham's talismen coming away from home.

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Show all 11

1/11Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Hugo Lloris

Undoubtedly the best goalkeeper in north London and a contender for No 1 in the Premier league, Lloris would stroll into the side and likely take the captain’s armband with him. Is this his last north-London derby? If Spurs miss out on Champions League football again this season, then the answer will lean towards yes – unless you believe the rumours linking him with a shock move to the Emirates.

Getty Images

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Hector Bellerin

Possibly the best option of a tricky situation. The other candidates don’t offer a great deal in protection given the recent form of Kyle Walker and Calum Chambers, and Bellerin’s crossing prowess would likely merit inclusion anyway. However, the Spaniard’s beautiful finish in the 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa last Sunday sees him rewarded with a place in our best XI – and likely in Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Jan Vertonghen

Vertonghen’s future is much in the same boat as Lloris’s in that failure to break into the top four could result in his departure. However, Vertonghen has been a prominent figure in a much-changed since his arrival in 2012, and he also has a knack of getting forward and scoring goals himself – despite having two taken away from him in the 2-1 win over Sunderland – but it will be his ability to maintain the likes of Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla that will be needed on Saturday.

Getty Images

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Laurent Koscielny

Arsenal’s best defender by far has only increased his worth with his performances since returning from injury. The Gunners suffered without his pace at the back and instinct to stop moves before they begin, and if he was to partner Vertonghen in the same defence, we reckon it would be a pretty hard task to create any chances, let alone score a goal.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Kieran Gibbs

The Englishman hasn’t had a solid run in the first-team due to injuries and rotation, but when he’s fully fit he offers Arsenal solidity on the left flank as well as an extra attacking option going forward. Danny Rose would offer more of a threat with the ball, especially with memories of his stunning striker in this fixture five years ago.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Aaron Ramsey

The Welshman hasn’t been at his best of late but that’s only due to the high standards he set last season where he enjoyed an brilliant run of games in front of goal. Part of that is due to dropping back from the advanced role he played in, but he remains a crucial part of the Arsenal side and when at his best can be very hard to stop from having a major influence on the result.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Santi Cazorla

One of the in-form players in the Premier League scored his sixth goal in eight games against Villa last week, and his incredible form has helped the Gunners reignite their campaign at a crucial time. Such is his impressive form that he comfortably keeps Mesut Özil out of the side.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Theo Walcott

His place in the side would likely go to Alexis Sanchez if he was fit, but Walcott’s return to action in recent weeks has seen a marked improvement in his last two outings against Bright and Hove Albion and Villa in which he scored his first Premier League goal in over a year. Spurs fans won’t be too kind to Walcott come Saturday though, given the last time they saw him he was giving them a 2-0 scoreline while being carried off on a stretcher.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Christian Eriksen

Spurs’ saviour has developed a Gareth Bale-esque knack for scoring crucial and often match-winning goals in the last 10 minutes of games. Not only that, but he’s starting to forge a talent for scoring free-kicks all angles that is proving fruitful for Spurs, especially in their recent up-turn in form. The Dane’s partnership with Harry Kane is a key reason for both players’ success this term.

Getty Images

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Olivier Giroud

The Frenchman suffered injury at the start of the season, and when he returned to spark the Gunners into life, he got needlessly sent-off for a head-butt on Nedum Onouha in the win over QPR. However, he has returned, yet again, to score important goals against Liverpool, Manchester City and Villa, and will hope to continue that in the north London derby.

GETTY IMAGES

Tottenham v Arsenal Best XI

Harry Kane

The red-hot Englishman couldn’t be left out of this side, could he? Kane scored a brace against West Brom last weekend to take his tally to 20 goals for the season, and stands as the top goalscorer in all competitions of any Premier League player. His ability to take his chances as and when they came about forced Mauricio Pochettino to select him in his starting line-up, and he’s fully repaid his manager’s faith by his rocketing goal tally.

Getty Images

Luckily for the hosts Arsenal will be without top scorer Alexis Sanchez once again, though the Chilean has netted just 4 of his 12 league strikes on foreign territory. The return to both fitness and form of Ozil and Walcott is a timely boost for the visitors though, with the latter scoring 4 and assisting 3 goals in his last 6 league appearances against Spurs, the last of which - this time last year - saw him sustain the knee injury that had kept Walcott sidelined to now.

Everton vs Liverpool

Speaking of timely returns (or highly untimely returns for those of the blue persuasion on Merseyside), Daniel Sturridge took just 12 minutes to score on his return to league action for Liverpool last weekend. The fact, then, that the England striker has not scored more competitive goals against any other club than he has against Everton (6), including 3 facing the Toffees last season, will leave the Reds rightly optimistic.

Brendan Rodgers will have been relieved having narrowly avoided the prospect of extra time against Bolton in the cup in midweek, with Liverpool now unbeaten after 90 minutes in their last 13 matches in all competitions. A lot of the focus in this particular Merseyside derby will revolve around Steven Gerrard, as it will be his last. The Liverpool captain has only scored more goals against Villa in his career than the Toffees (10) but his last goal at Goodison came way back in 2005.

Tottenham's Aaron Lennon joined Everton on loan in deadline-day move (Getty Images)

The hosts will hope to spoil Gerrard's day of course, and picked up an important victory ahead of Saturday's game last time out following a dismal run of results. Roberto Martinez's side have had a tough second season under the Spaniard and, having lost just 3 matches at this stage last season, have already tasted league defeat more times in the current campaign (9) than they had at the 2013/14 season's close (8).

West Ham vs Manchester United

This weekend's action culminates at Upton Park with West Ham hosting Manchester United, hoping to close a gap to the Red Devils that has developed after a tough run of fixtures. Not long ago the Hammers were dreaming of Champions League football but with just 1 league win in 6 their aspirations have certainly been dashed. Still not out of the running for a Europa League push, however, Sam Allardyce's men will want to protect an impressive home record.

Indeed, only three sides have picked up more points as hosts than the Hammers going into the weekend (23), conceding just 10 goals and keeping 5 clean sheets at the Boleyn Ground. The fact that United have won just 3 league matches on the road this season and scored a modest 13 goals away from home will give the home fans reason for optimism then, though the unavoidable truth that the Londoners have picked up just 1 point from a possible 36 in their last 12 meetings with the Manchester club will probably overrule any great hopes in this one.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal makes a point (Getty Images)

With 10 goals in his last 9 league meetings with West Ham Wayne Rooney will hope to end a drought of 7 competitive matches without scoring. Meanwhile Robin van Persie, who took his league tally to 9 for the season against Leicester last weekend, has struck in each of his last 6 league meetings with the Hammers, so the hopes of a sixth clean sheet at home for the hosts seem remote.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings. You can follow all the scores, statistics, live player and team ratings with the new free-to-download WhoScored iOS app

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies