THE Premier League weekend kicks off in style as Tottenham Hotspur host Arsenal in a huge North London derby Saturday.

  As it has been in many of the recent seasons, this historic fixture takes on extra significance as the two fierce rivals compete for Champions League qualification.

 Arsenal’s 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane last term helped them continue their record of finishing above Spurs in every season of the Premier League era, and they look well placed to do so again this year.

  The Gunners may only hold a two-point advantage over their neighbours, but they are hitting their stride at just the right time and have won five matches on the bounce since their New Year’s Day defeat to Southampton.

  Alexis Sanchez has been ruled out of this weekend clash with a hamstring strain, but Arsene Wenger’s men fared perfectly fine without their 18-goal top scorer last weekend as they thrashed Aston Villa 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

  Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott each notched their first goals since returning from their own injuries, while Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud continued their impressive recent form before Hector Bellerin opened his club account.

 Spurs do not have the same spread of goal getters, but Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen are proving to be reliable match-winners and they combined to fire the Lilywhites past West Bromwich Albion this past Saturday.

Kane’s 20-goal haul in all competitions this season actually eclipses that of £35m man Sanchez, and every other Premier League player, so the club will have been delighted to tie him down to a new long-term deal.

 With good reason, Wenger is likely to stick with the same side that hammered Villa, which means that new arrival Gabriel Paulista will be spared the prospect of making his debut in the cauldron of a North London derby.

 Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Debuchy and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are still sidelined by injury, but Danny Welbeck, a summer target of Tottenham, is fighting to be fit and could be named among the substitutes.

  The reverse fixture at the Emirates in September was drawn 1-1 as Chamberlain cancelled out Chadli’s opener.