Paul Merson believes Arsenal and Tottenham have "no excuses" to not play their full-strength teams in the North London derby on Sunday.
Both sides won the first leg of their Europa League last 16 ties on Thursday, with Arsenal beating Olympiacos 3-1 and Tottenham earning a 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
As a result, Merson is hopeful that "both teams play their strongest teams" and he is predicting that there will be "plenty of goals".
Speaking on Sky Sports, Merson said: "I think because both teams won comfortably in midweek, 3-1 Arsenal and 2-0 Tottenham, I think this is game on. I really think this is game on now.
"I was a bit worried, I thought if Arsenal ended up drawing away or Tottenham drew I think they would have weakened their teams. There's no excuse [now], no excuse. Both teams, surely, are through to the next round of the Europa.
"To the older fan, my age and older, this is still the biggest game. For the younger [fan], I don't know, I ain't sure. But I hope both teams play their strongest teams knowing that their through in the Europa and get a game on.
"The one thing about this game, we talk about red Sunday and red Monday when Liverpool play Man United and the game sort of drifts away and they cancel each other out. This game never lets you down. There's always action. There's always goals.
"I hope I haven't got this wrong but I expect there to be plenty of goals in this game. I think both teams going forward at the moment are very, very good."
Writing in his column for the Daily Star, Merson labelled Arsenal the favourites to win the derby, saying: "If both teams play to the best of their ability I think Arsenal win the game. I think their passing and movement is better.
"Spurs rely too much on Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, and lately Gareth Bale. But Arsenal are a different team to the one Spurs beat in December."
