WSL: Tottenham v Arsenal – are Spurs in contention for European place?

Tottenham may be feeling more confident this season under Ho, but their WSL record against Arsenal offers little cause for optimism.

Of the 11 north London derbies, Spurs have won only once.

Yet that lone victory – a 1-0 win in December 2023 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – is enough to serve as a source of belief.

“We’ve got a big opportunity in a north London derby to do what we’ve done previously. I know we’ve only beaten them once before, but it’s not impossible,” England said.

Ho says that his players do not need him to “tell them how big that game is”.

“They know that. It’s my first one, ” he added. “I know how important it is to the fans, to the club and we want to make sure we go into that with the right attitude and the right mentality but it’s a really big opportunity for us to showcase what we can do.”

However, Sunday’s match will not be Ho’s first taste of the rivalry, having seen Tottenham beat the Gunners 4-3 in pre-season, in his second game in charge.

Asked about that pre-season game by BBC London, Ho replied: “I wish they counted for something but they don’t. We can take some confidence and belief from that, that we belong at that level and we can compete at that level.”

A rare derby victory for Spurs could prove damaging to Arsenal’s title aspirations as it would leave them at least six points behind leaders Manchester City, who could extend their advantage with a win against Manchester United on Saturday.

And Arsenal will be keen to bounce back after letting a two-goal lead slip in their 3-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.

“That was really disappointing and we’ve acknowledged that as a collective,” Gunners boss Renee Slegers said.

“The players will use this as fuel going into the north London derby.”