The third round of the Capital One Cup contains several enticing fixtures and one of them takes place at White Hart Lane on Wednesday as North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal do battle.
For both sides it is their first League Cup tie of the season as they enter at the third-round stage due to their involvement in European competitions.
Spurs
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The narrow opening-day loss at Manchester United remains Spurs' only defeat of the season and they have begun to turn draws into wins in September.
After three straight draws to finish August, Mauricio Pochettino's side have claimed back-to-back 1-0 Premier League wins over Sunderland and Crystal Palace either side of a 3-1 triumph against Qarabag in their Europa League opener last week.
The biggest positive has been the form of new signing Son Heung-Min, who netted the winner against Palace on Sunday and now has three goals in two games after a brace against Qarabag.
The South Korean seems to enjoy playing at the Lane, but his quality will be tested against Arsenal here before league leaders Manchester City visit N17 on Saturday lunchtime.
While Son prospers, last season's top scorer Harry Kane continues to struggle. The England international is still without a goal this season after finding the net 31 times in all competitions in 2014-15.
Spurs have won the League Cup on four occasions - only Liverpool (8), Chelsea (5) and Aston Villa (5) have won it more - and last season they reached the final for the first time in six years, losing 2-0 at Wembley to Chelsea.
Recent form: DDDWWW
Arsenal
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The Gunners are above Spurs in the Premier League table, but that gap is now just a point following defeat at Chelsea on Saturday.
In the feistiest game of the weekend, Arsene Wenger was furious when Gabriel Paulista was sent off and Diego Costa escaped a red for his part in the handbags just before half time at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea went on to claim a 2-0 victory and Santi Cazorla was also sent for an early bath 10 minutes from time for a second yellow card.
That means Arsenal have lost back-to-back matches and had three men sent off in two games after striker Olivier Giroud was given his marching orders in the surprise 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
The Gunners are one of four clubs - Norwich City, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers being the others - to have won the Cup twice. They have never won the trophy with Wenger in charge, with their last success over 20 years ago in 1993.
They last reached the final in 2011 when they were stunned by Birmingham and have gone out before the quarter-final stage the last two seasons, losing to Southampton at the first hurdle a year ago.
Recent form: WDWWLL
Team News
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The visitors will be without suspended duo Gabriel and Cazorla, while defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin has been ruled out with a knee injury.
Per Mertesacker is fit to return after over a month out, while fringe players and youngsters are likely to be given a chance as Wenger often chops and changes for this competition.
Joel Campbell is one who could come into the starting lineup, with Wenger also hinting that 19-year-old Alex Iwobi could get the nod.
For the hosts, Clinton N'Jie could make his full debut after coming off the bench in Spurs' last two games.
Pochettino is likely to make a number of changes and he remains without the injured midfield trio of Nabil Bentaleb, Moussa Dembele and Ryan Mason.
Spurs possible starting lineup:
Vorm; Trippier, Fazio, Wimmer, Rose; Dier, Alli; Townsend, Chadli, N'Jie; Kane
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Flamini, Arteta; Walcott, Campbell, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Iwobi
Head To Head
Spurs have tasted victory against their arch-rivals just once in the last five meetings, but that was when the North Londoners last met in February at White Hart Lane.
The Gunners were leading 1-0 at the break, but Kane's brace in the second half, that included a pinpoint 86th-minute looping header, spurred the hosts to victory.
This is the first meeting in almost exactly five years in the League Cup. In 2010, it was 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Arsenal going on to claim a 4-1 triumph in extra time.
We say: Spurs 2-1 Arsenal
Spurs are beginning to find some form as Arsenal go the other way. With Wenger set to continue with his rotation policy for the competition, Spurs might just have the edge.
Pascal Lemesre
