The north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham is rarely dull or insignificant and this season's second instalment promises to be as hard-fought as ever, even though both teams are far below the overall standards they expected to reach this season.
In the first meeting at the Emirates in late October, with Harry Redknapp having just taken over in the Tottenham hotseat, the bitter rivals served up one of the games of the season in a 4-4 draw. David Bentley's long-range opener for Tottenham has a strong claim as goal of the season, and there may not be a more dramatic finish than the two late goals scored by the visitors to snatch a point.
That thrilling encounter joined a long list of memorable Arsenal-Tottenham encounters of recent years, with the Gazza FA Cup semi-final of 1991 and Arsenal's 5-4 win at White Hart Lane in 2004 among the other highlights. Ten of the last 15 league derbies have had at least three goals, including all of the last five, which have averaged 4.4 goals per game.
The other notable feature of the recent history of this derby is that Arsenal have proved near-impossible to beat since Arsene Wenger took charge. Wenger's league record against Tottenham is won 12, drawn 12, lost one, with the sole defeat coming almost 10 years ago. Tottenham's only other win over Wenger's Arsenal was 5-1 last season in the Carling Cup semi-final, but usually when it has really mattered, in the league and FA Cup, Arsenal have come out on top.
Tomorrow night's game matters for both sides, for different reasons. Arsenal face a tough battle to retain their accustomed position among the Champions League teams, trailing fourth-placed Aston Villa by five points with almost two-thirds of the season completed.
Tottenham's plight is more desperate, as they are just one point outside the relegation zone in 14th place. After making initial progress under Redknapp, winning five of their first eight league matches at a points average of 2.0, they have won only one of their last eight and their average has plummeted to 0.75 points per game.