Marquee matchup: White Hart Lane stages its last north London derby

The old White Hart Lane ground will be staging its last-ever north London derby on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed Friday that it will sign a one-year lease at Wembley next season, before moving into its new home on the same plot where it has resided for 118 years in time for the 2018-19 campaign. With this news, beating Arsenal takes on a greater, more visceral meaning.

There is also the opportunity to rid the calendar of St. Totteringham's Day, the celebration of when Spurs can no longer finish above the Gunners in the Premier League table. Last year, it went to the final game before Arsenal shuffled higher than Tottenham for the 21st straight term, but a win for the weekend's host will see it step out from under the shadows of Arsene Wenger's throng.

Is this the start of a new annual observance for a fictional saint?

Injuries and suspensions

The gliding movement of Mousa Dembele could be missing from the encounter after his enforced half-time substitution at Crystal Palace on Wednesday; he wasn't pictured in Friday's training session on the club website. Danny Rose's worrisome knee issue keeps him on the sidelines.

Laurent Koscielny has a 60 percent chance of playing, according to Arsene Wenger, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is available. Shkodran Mustafi is still approximately two weeks short of match fitness.

Projected lineups

Tottenham starting XI: Lloris; Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Son; Eriksen, Alli; Kane

Arsenal starting XI: Cech; Gabriel, Koscielny, Holding; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Xhaka, Ramsey, Monreal; Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud

What to watch

From being a peripheral member of the Tottenham squad for years, Rose has installed himself as one of the finest left-back-cum-left-wing-backs in the division, and it's a credit to the depth and quality of Mauricio Pochettino's side that it's still mounting a title challenge.

Missing the England international does leave a problem area for Spurs, though, with the oft-average Ben Davies, natural right-backs Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier, and Heung-Min Son, who erratically conceded a penalty in last Saturday's FA Cup semi-final loss to Chelsea, auditioning for left wing-back duties.

Despite the doubts following his Wembley mishap, Son should get the nod. Trippier's right foot can deliver devilish crosses, but is wasted on the left, and Walker hasn't cropped up on that side since two right-backs - Walker and Kyle Naughton - emerged at the same time at Sheffield United. Plus, Arsenal's inevitable preoccupation with Dele Alli would mean Son may have more license to attack behind Oxlade-Chamberlain, rather than concern himself with streaking back to upend someone in the area.

Granit Xhaka should try to rehash Ander Herrera's excellent stifling of Eden Hazard in Manchester United's 2-0 defeat of Chelsea earlier in April. Jose Mourinho's prized Spaniard did a superb man-marking job, but, admittedly, Xhaka's simultaneous inability and insistence to tackle could see him evaded by Tottenham's own inside-forward, Alli, on Sunday. Xhaka could need help. This weakness may force Oxlade-Chamberlain to drift centrally to aid his teammate and, in turn, allow Son to contort Arsenal's back three by dizzying Gabriel Paulista.

The seemingly critical area on the right-hand side of Wenger's squad may also offer space that Christian Eriksen will gratefully take. His two identical assists for Alli earlier in the season should be heeded by the Gunners.

Wenger's resolve was tested this season to the point that the back-three mold that he inherited when he took over Arsenal was restored 20 years later. With it has come a greater inclination to get stuck in, something which showed the soft underbelly of Manchester City in the FA Cup but, against a simply better opponent in Tottenham, that may not necessarily work.

This is where Wenger would benefit if he was a more reactive manager. Pochettino tends to change his back three or four if it's not working at the break, but even if Arsenal takes the lead at White Hart Lane it's difficult to see Wenger requesting anything other than his side dropping a tad deeper. A narrow back four with wing-backs sinking to forge a defensive sextet has frustrated Chelsea - Tony Pulis' West Bromwich Albion only lost 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with that strict setup - and Tottenham's system is a replica of Antonio Conte's shape. If Wenger is willing to make changes, this could reap rewards when seeing out a result in the latter stages.

Spurs are, man-for-man, a better team than Arsenal, so simply mirroring Pochettino's approach is unlikely to pay off for over 90 minutes. If the Gunners are to secure an unlikely victory, Wenger will have to get off his seat and tinker.