Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks insists the weekend's derby clash against Arsenal will be passionate and aggressive, even without any fans at the stadium.
Spurs have had mixed form since the Premier League restarted and have won just two of their five games back in action, with their latest result a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth on Thursday.
Jose Mourinho takes his Tottenham side into the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday, with Spurs sitting just one point and one place behind the Gunners.
The game will be playing at an empty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Winks insists that will not affect the passion or aggression that the match will be played with, as both sides eye points.
The 24-year old stressed that he knows the derby match is massive and revealed it means more to the fans and the players than just the three points on offer; he also warned Arsenal that Tottenham will look to stamp their authority on the game.
“It’s a massive game. We are both in and around the same sort of position in the table”, Winks explained to Spurs TV.
“We need to win for the fans, for ourselves. It’s a huge game and it's going to be competitive game even though there are no fans there.
“It's still going to be a derby, still going to feel like a derby and being the home team, we need to make sure we win.
“It will be passionate, aggressive and two teams wanting to win, minus the fans which will be difficult not having them behind us."
Winks also stressed that Tottenham are in need of points, but has urged his team not to look at what other sides around them are doing.
“With the circumstances we are in right now, we need to just keep focusing on ourselves and fighting on the pitch and working as hard as we can because we have the ability.
"We just need to make sure we go out there and win the battles first.
“It’s a game that we are going to set our stamp on.
"We are the home team and we want to win the game just as much as they do. It’s a game that is more than just three points.”
Arsenal sit eighth in the Premier League table with 50 points after 34 games, with Tottenham below them in ninth place with one point fewer accumulated over the course of the season.
