North London Derby Buildup, Europa League Reaction, Premier League Team News and More – Live

The Emirates Stadium is braced for its most combustible afternoon of the season as Arsenal welcome Tottenham for a north London derby that could deepen the gloom around White Hart Lane or tighten the screws on Mikel Arteta’s title chasers. With only five points separating Spurs from the relegation zone and Arsenal smarting from a last-gasp draw at Wolves, Sunday’s collision feels laced with jeopardy on both sides.

Interim Spurs boss Igor Tudor, appointed after Thomas Frank’s dismissal on 11 February, will take charge of his first Premier League match and insists survival is a formality. “One hundred per cent,” he said when asked if Tottenham will be a top-flight club next season. “I’m not here to enjoy, I’m here to work.” The Croatian inherits a squad that has failed to win any of its last eight league outings and has collected only four points from eight games in 2026, leaving them 16th.

Arsenal, by contrast, sit third, level on 13 points with Manchester City from eight matches this calendar year and buoyed by a Champions League campaign in which, according to Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, they are now “the favourites”. Emery, whose Villa side trail Arsenal by a single point domestically, praised the Gunners’ European form while warning that his own team “are still dreaming of winning the Premier League”.

Arteta, however, refuses to look beyond the derby. “It’s the match we have next and the one we cannot wait to play,” he said, noting that Arsenal have already faced seven different interim or newly appointed managers this season. “We will have the capacity to adapt.” The Spaniard defended his side’s recent league record—two wins from seven—by pointing to a “tremendous reaction” in the dressing room after the Wolves equaliser. “We are exactly where we want to be in every competition,” he insisted.

Across the divide, Tudor’s immediate priority is shoring up a defence that shipped four goals in November’s reverse fixture. Tottenham have managed only two points from their last four matches, a slight improvement on their previous sequence, yet still better only than bottom club Brighton in that four-game window.

Elsewhere, Manchester United’s interim manager Michael Carrick distanced himself from minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s assertion that the UK has been “colonised by immigrants”, stressing the club’s commitment to “equality, diversity and respect”. Ratcliffe will face no FA sanction but has been reminded of his responsibilities. United, idle for 13 days, travel to Everton on Monday night where Carrick will pit wits against David Moyes, his former boss at Old Trafford. Moyes praised Carrick’s impact at United and reflected on his own ill-fated tenure, admitting he would “have done things slightly different” given a second chance.

Crystal Palace were hit with a £50,000 fine after an independent commission ruled the club failed to prevent a fan banner depicting Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis holding a gun to Morgan Gibbs-White’s head. Palace denied the charge but the commission found it proven under FA Rule E21.

In the Championship, Sheffield Wednesday could be relegated this weekend if results go against them, prompting one supporter to lament the club’s combined 18-point deduction for off-field issues. “The league table lies when a club has a handicap,” the fan wrote.

Benfica, meanwhile, have opened an inquiry into alleged racist behaviour toward Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior during Tuesday’s Champions League tie, with manager José Mourinho admitting the club is “emotionally” affected by the fallout.

As the weekend unfolds, form tables offer only partial guidance: City lead the four-week mini-league with 10 points, Chelsea and United sit level on goal difference, while Arsenal remain fifth. Yet in derbies, history and emotion often trump statistics. Sunday promises another chapter—one both sets of north Londoners will write under the fiercest of spotlights.