The Premier League has confirmed that the delayed north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal will be played next month after the original fixture was called off in January.
Arsenal got the game postponed shortly after the turn of the year their squad was severely depleted by multiple COVID-19 cases, preexisting injury concerns and the loss of several players to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, and the decision still had Spurs coach Antonio Conte agitated two months later.
It was announced Monday that the two local rivals will go head-to-head in an evening kick-off on Thursday, May 12, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what will be each side’s third-to-last game of the season.
With Champions League qualification still on the line for both sides, Spurs will then play their penultimate Premier League fixture against Burnley just three days later on May 15, while Arsenal will likewise travel north to Newcastle United for theirs the following night.
The teams are level on points in the race for fourth place (though Arsenal have a game in hand), and while the result of no single fixture can truly be said to decide a team’s league fate, it stands to reason that a win in the late-season derby would see the victors seize a significant advantage over their foes.
There have been several examples in recent years of league titles and Champions League qualification almost hinging on a single game during the final weeks of the Premier League season.
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Dubbed “the £20 million match,” Chelsea welcomed Liverpool to Stamford Bridge for their final match of the 2002-03 Premier League season and a game they simply HAD to win.
With Roman Abramovich’s game-changing…
Source : espn
