Dele Alli will miss the North London derby through injury, failing to recover in time from his hamstring problem earlier in the week.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Dele Alli of Tottenham in action during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur at Bramall Lane on July 02, 2020 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND: Dele Alli of Tottenham in action during the Premier League match on July 02, 2020. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Jose Mourinho ruled Dele Alli out of the midweek game against Bournemouth with a hamstring injury.

The Spurs head coach insisted it was only a minor problem, and it was unclear whether the midfielder would recover for the North London derby. However, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed on Friday that Alli would miss the match.

Eric Dier will also sit the game out through his four-match suspension. Spurs’ Japhet Tanganga and Troy Parrott are both back in training, but they’ll probably come up short for this match too.

It’s still not an injury and suspension list as long as Arsenal’s, but whose is?

For Mourinho, Dier is probably the bigger loss than Alli. After the latter’s initial revival under new management, he went off the boil again after the turn of the year. Alli scored two goals and assisted two in 18 games in 2020 pre-injury.

Meanwhile, Dier started and played 90 minutes (or 120 minutes) in eight consecutive games pre-suspension. Not that Spurs were actually any good in that run, but Mourinho clearly thought the 26-year-old was earning starts.

As an Arsenal fan, I can’t say I’m too bothered about either missing out.