Five reasons why Spurs are in a league or their own
Five reasons why Tottenham have the edge over Arsenal
TOTTENHAM v ARSENAL
(Tonight, 8.45pm, Singtel TV Ch 102 & StarHub TV Ch 227)
North London Derbies rarely get bigger than this.
Beat fellow title rivals Arsenal at White Hart Lane tonight, and Tottenham Hotspur may even end the weekend as the English Premier League leaders.
Spurs will be keen to show that their midweek 1-0 defeat by West Ham was merely a blip.
They will be desperate to prove that they have what it takes to win English football's greatest prize.
Here's what makes Spurs tick this season, and Arsene Wenger should be duly worried.
1 MAURICIO POCHETTINO
When Pochettino took over the Tottenham hotseat in the summer of 2014, compatriot and Spurs legend Ossie Ardiles warned fans to give the new boss time to get things right.
The Argentinian said: "Spurs fans have to be patient. He has a big reputation for building squads."
The Tottenham faithful didn't have to wait too long.
Two years on, Pochettino have an excellent chance to win the club's first league title since 1961.
Other than leaders Leicester City, Spurs are perhaps the other team among the title contenders who have shown consistency and balance this season.
At the beginning of the season, Spurs were not fancied to have a crack at the title.
The 44-year-old was Spurs' eighth permanent manager of the new millennium, during which the club brought in tacticians - from the conservative to the innovative - but without real success.
Never have a Spurs side in more than two decades excited their supporters this much.
Certainly, never have any of them forged an identity as strong as Pochettino's.
They are young, enterprising, dynamic and terribly efficient.
The high-pressing, attacking style of football which has become a trademark of this outfit began to work like a charm this term, in his second season in charge.
But he doesn't just talk, like some of this predecessors. He delivers.
Second in the table with just 10 games to go, Spurs are only three points off the top and have the best goal difference in the Premiership.
No team have let in fewer goals than the 22 they have conceded in 28 matches.
Only leaders Leicester, with 51 goals, have scored more than Pochettino's side, who have 49.
It is why they are going into the final straight brimming with confidence.
Many observers have remarked how Spurs seem to have a squad tailor-made for a relentlessly intensive strategy.
Less, though, have credited Pochettino for shrewdly assembling and moulding a squad capable of handling the demands.
His eye for talent is remarkable - Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Kevin Wimmer, Toby Alderweireld and Son Heung Min arrived at White Hart Lane during his time.
So is his willingness to give youngsters a chance, but most impressively, his uncanny knack of knowing when they are ready.
Under his guidance, youngsters like Harry Kane, Alli and Dier have came out of nowhere to play key roles in this season's title challenge.
Pochettino may have a sound game plan, and it still requires him to show faith in his players, experienced or not, to carry it out.
In return, his charges are displaying the self-belief they need to keep defying the odds.
It is interesting to note, too, that Spurs' net spending on player transfers over the last two seasons stands at only slightly over £9 million ($17.7m) in the red, as a result of Pochettino's clever clearance of deadwood such as Andros Townsend (£12m), Paulinho (£9m), Jake Livermore (£8m), Etienne Capoue (£7m) and Benjamin Stambouli (£6m).
There isn't an over-reliance on a single player like when Gareth Bale was their biggest name.
Spurs now have a team greater than the sum of their parts.
And, when the going gets tough, Pochettino can still count on the individual brilliance running through the team to haul them out of trouble.
There is a solidity to the spine that goes against the Spurs stereotype.
"Spursy" is a term which shows up in Urban Dictionary, defined as: "To consistently and inevitably fail to live up to expectations. To bottle it."
But, under Pochettino, "Spursy" has just taken on a whole new meaning.
2 COMEBACKS
Spurs made the majority of the 35,922 spectators at White Hart Lane sweat buckets during their 2-1 win over Swansea last Sunday.
The side fell behind to a Alberto Paloschi goal in the 19th minute.
But when they did level the score, they would gain the lead within seven minutes, with Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose (right) scoring in the 70th and 77th minutes respectively to seal a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Their fighting spirit shouldn't come as a surprise.
No Premiership team have recovered more than the 17 points they have this season from losing positions.
Second on the chart are Leicester and Swansea, although they are quite some way back with 11 points.
- Spurs wins after going behind: Man City, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Swansea.
- Spurs draws after going behind: Swansea, Everton.
3 DEFENCE
Traditionally, Spurs are known to be an attacking force with a porous backline.
Not since 1951 have they ended a season with the best defensive record of their division.
It is why supporters are still finding it hard to digest their new-found defensive reliability.
The 22 goals they have let in is the best defensive record in the top division.
Alderweireld (right), recently touted as the best centre back in the world by Ardiles, has been instrumental in their excellent performances.
An excellent tackler blessed with a sound technique (from his Ajax Amsterdam education as a youth), he has formed an excellent partnership with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen in the heart of the backline.
On the flanks, Kyle Walker and Rose have been assured defensively.
Holding midfielder Dier also drops back frequently to give the two fullbacks licence to attack the wide areas. If the recent injury to Vertonghen hasn't exactly been noticed, that is because Wimmer has slotted into the first 11 seamlessly.
4 ATTACK
Their improved defending did not come at the expense of their attacking game, however.
With 49 goals in 28 matches, they are the second-highest scorers in the Premiership.
Striker Kane (above) leads the club's scoring chart with 16 league goals, while Alli has chipped in with seven from midfield.
With an average of 16.7 shots per game, they are the second-most trigger-happy team in the league, after Manchester City (16.9).
5 YOUTH
The youth of this Spurs squad has drawn comparisons with the young Manchester United side which clinched the championship in the 1995-96 season.
With an average starting-11 age of 24 years and 185 days, Pochettino are in charge of the youngest lot in the Premiership.
Alli (above) is just 19, Kane is only 22, while Erik Lamela, Son and Wimmer are still 23.
Against Swansea last Sunday, they fielded the second-youngest (24 years and 103 days) starting 11 in the Premier League this term.
What they lack for in experience, they more than make up for it with their fearlessness and, crucially, stamina.
Pochettino's pressing game works best with a team of quick and extremely fit players, who are required to harass the opponents from the front.
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