Tottenham vs Stoke - as it happened: Harry Kane leads the way as Potters are swept aside
Re-live all the Premier League action live from White Hart Lane
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham Hotspur can ill-afford a slip at White Hart Lane with Chelsea 11 points clear at the top, while breathing down their necks are Arsenal, Liverpool and in-form Manchester United.
Stoke have taken only two points from a possible 14 against the top six sides this season but it remains to be seen how Spurs will be affected by playing for 51 minutes with 10 men against Gent on Thursday.
At this stage last year, Tottenham were chasing Leicester for the title but now they are involved in a fierce battle to finish in the top four in order to qualify for the Champions League.
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Team news
Tottenham Hotspur (3-5-2-1): Lloris, Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Davies, Alli, Eriksen, Kane.
Subs: Son, Janssen, Vorm, Trippier, Sissoko, Wimmer, Winks.
Stoke: Grant, Bardsley, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters, Whelan, Adam, Sobhi, Allen, Arnautovic, Crouch.
Subs: Muniesa, Berahino, Afellay, Diouf, Cameron, Imbula, Given.
Referee: Jonathan Moss (County Durham)
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Sunday’s Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City at White Hart Lane.
With the clubs either side of them - Manchester City and Arsenal - enjoying a weekend off, a home win for Spurs will move the north London club up to second in the table, ten points behind the leaders Chelsea.
Stoke, meanwhile, dropped a place to tenth yesterday following West Ham’s draw at Watford but a point or better this afternoon will take them back above the Hammers. It kicks off at half past one.
Tottenham v Stoke – 1.30pm
Here's how the sides line up at White Hart Lane...
...where Tottenham return to Premier League action for the first time since February 11th following three outings in cup competitions, and Mauricio Pochettino makes just one change from the team that lost at Liverpool 15 days ago. Jan Vertonghen has recovered from injury he sustained against West Brom in January, and takes the place of Heung-Min as Spurs opt for a back-three; it's the same side that failed to get the better of Gent at Wembley on Thursday.
Stoke have been blessed with a two-week break, and it’s an unchanged team that Mark Hughes names from the side that beat Crystal Palace last time out. Peter Crouch leads the line against his former club while Geoff Cameron is back on the bench and in for a first appearance since October following a knee injury.
Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Wanyama, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Kane
Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Winks, Sissoko, Son, Janssen
Stoke: Grant, Bardsley, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters, Whelan, Adam, Arnautovic, Allen, Ramadan, Crouch
Subs: Given, Muniesa, Berahino, Afellay, Diouf, Cameron, Imbula
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Do Stoke have a good recent record against Tottenham?
This Tweet fails to mention that Potters have lost their last two meetings with Spurs by a 4-0 scoreline, both on home soil.
KICK-OFF: Stoke City, in sky blue shirts and shorts, get the match underway at White Hart Lane, and immediately indulge in some head tennis and hoofing where the ball doesn't touch the pitch for 15 seconds. The ghost of Tony Pulis lives on.
4 mins: Tottenham have begun in offensive mood - and not in the way their performance against Gent was offensive. As so often is the case, they are working their way down the right flank where both Kyle Walker and Victor Wanyama have tested Stoke with early crosses.
6 mins: And then the first goal nearly arrives from the left! Christian Eriksen makes a fool of Ryan Shawcross as he cuts in from the wing, but then appears to get caught in two minds as he approaches goal. Eventually, he rolls his cross-cum-shot through the legs of Lee Grant but it fails to find either the far corner or Harry Kane, disappearing behind for a goal-kick.
9 mins: The game is being played inside the Stoke penalty area for the most part, and Kane, Eriksen, Dele Alli and Ben Davies all had opportunities to pull the trigger in this latest attack. Most culpable, however, was Wanyama, who had so much time and space to find the target, but after dithering, attempted to move the ball on to a teammate.
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