Trippier goal secures win over Watford

Trippier goal secures win over Watford
Will Hugo Lloris (left), be able to keep out Troy Deeney (right)? photo: vavel
oliveremmerson
By Oliver Emmerson
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There we have it, a narrow victory for Tottenham against Watford, thanks to Kieran Trippier's second half goal. Until next time, goodbye!

Full-time: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Watford

90: Four minutes of added time. 

87: Ighalo tried an audacious overhead kick inside the box, but it flies high and is cleared. Watford finally throwing the kitchen sink.

80: Deeney does well to hold it up and tees up Watson to shoot, but he's quickly charged down. 

77: Little over 10 minutes of normal time left, Spurs in control.

68: Tottenham have dominated today, and could have scored a second there as Eriksen threaded Lamela through, only for the Argentine to slice his effort wide. 

64: Good work from Dembele, who puts Alli away down the left side of the penalty area. The substitute makes an instant impact, sending a great ball across the box for Trippier, who gets a deserved goal by tapping in at the back post. 1-0!

GOAL! Trippier puts Spurs ahead!

61: If the game were to end now, Gomes would surely have to get the Man of the Match award. He's on hand again there, doing well to catch a Lamela free-kick. Mauricio Pochettino has seen enough, and brings on Dele Alli for Chadli. 

57: Trippier's been a really good outlet for Spurs on the right hand side today. Picking up the ball again, he puts in another excellent cross, from which Chadli will be disappointed to put over. 

53: Kane curls one from the side of the area, Gomes pushes it at the first attempt before clearing at the second. For Watford, Britos can't continue, Prodl coming on.

51: Two penalty shouts for Spurs, in the same attack! Lamela's cross arguably strikes the arm of Ake, nothing given. After hitting Ake, Kane tries to get hold of the ball and is clipped by Gomes, falls, but has nothing given. 

48: Worry for Watford as Britos goes down injured. He's hobbled off to get some more treatment.

45: Back underway. Two changes for Watford, Behrami and Deeney on for Suarez and Abdi. Sanchez-Flores going back to his usual 4-3-1-2 formation, in an attempt to cause Spurs some more trouble at the back.

No goals so far, hopefully we'll see some in the second half!

Half-time: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Watford

40: What a ball from Dier! He curls a beauty over the Watford defence, but Kane can only volley over from inside the area.

37: It's Ben Davies - Gomes at the moment! The Welshman again breaks beyond the Hornets' backline and gets a shot away, but another strong hand from the 'keeper kept it out.

35: Half a chance for Watford as there's some confusion in the Spurs backline about Lloris coming for the ball. Ighalo nips in and gives it to Abdi, who tries an audacious lob, which lands on the top of the net.

32: Tottenham are really on top now, Davies again involved as he breaks into the area, forcing Gomes into a save before the ball is scrambled away as Kane lurks, looking desperately for the rebound. Still 0-0, will the deadlock be broken in the remaining 13 minutes of this half?

30: Even closer! Davies down the left hand side, gets his shot away from the edge of the area, and it strikes the knee of Nyom before flashing just wide of the post.

26: Close! Another Spurs corner, this time it bounces nicely for Dembele, who shoots wide from 12 yards.

25: The hosts are being very patient on the ball, moving it around when in possession, looking to break down this rigid Watford defence. Eriksen moves the ball out wide to Trippier, who crosses for Dembele, but the Belgian can only win a corner which is wasted.

15: It's all Tottenham here really, without the home side creating any clear cut chances. Watford did get a chance to angle the ball in with a free-kick just inside the Spurs half, but it was easily cleared.

8: Below Eriksen's usual standard, straight into the wall. Moments later, Kane looks to get free in the area, but clips the ball into Gomes' hands.

6: Quiet first few minutes here. Spurs force the first corner, but it's well punched by Gomes and then cleared. Dembele brought down from around 25 yards out, a chance for Eriksen from the resulting free-kick...

2: In Dele Alli's absence, Christian Eriksen looks to get his eye in on goal early on, but can only see a shot from distance well closed down.

0: Kick-off, we're underway at White Hart Lane.

In the days lunchtime kick-off, Leicester City delivered something of a shock at the Etihad, beating Manchester City 3-1. That means, as Spurs get their final briefing in the dressing room now, they know that a win will lift them to second place in the league.

Watford new-boy Mario Suarez gets a start, but club captain Troy Deeney is only on the bench. 

No Dele Alli for Spurs, as he's only fit enough to make the bench. This means that Christian Eriksen will play in the central role behind Harry Kane, with Lamela and Chadli either side of him.

Watford substitutes: Pantilimon, Holebas, Behrami, Prodl, Anya, Amrabat, Deeney.

Tottenham Hotspur substitutes: Vorm, Walker, Rose, Carroll, Mason, Alli, Son.

Watford XI: Gomes, Nyom, Cathcart, Britos, Ake, Capoue, Suarez, Abdi, Watson, Jurado, Ighalo. 

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Lloris, Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies, Dembele, Dier, Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli, Kane.

We've got some confirmed team news!

One key player for Spurs recently has been the youngster Dele Alli, who is having something of a breakthrough season in centre-midfield. He's scored six goals in his last 13 games, and got one against Norwich on Tuesday. However, he complained of dizziness and came off at half-time in that game, so might not make today's game. 

Alli and Kane have been brilliant recently (photo: getty)
Alli and Kane have been brilliant recently (photo: getty)

The last time these two met was at Vicarage Road back in December, with each team playing their final game of 2015. Erik Lamela put Tottenham ahead early on, before Watford equalised, with it coming as no surprise that Ighalo was the goalscorer. However, the visitors gained an advantage in the second half as Nathan Ake was sent off for Watford, aiding Spurs as they pursued a winner - which Son Heung-Min scored with a minute remaining.

At the other end of the spectrum, Spurs are in smashing form. Taking maxium points from their last three league games, they've scored 10 goals in those three games, with the likes of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen in brilliant form. Similarly to Watford, they've made it to the FA Cup fifth round, and did so with another goalfest - beating Colchester United 4-1 last weekend. Their mid-week game was away at Norwich City, and resulted in a comfortable 3-0 win.

Recent form for Watford hasn't been as good though, with Quique Sanchez-Flores' side having only won one of their last seven Premier League games, including a disappointing home defeat to Manchester City in a game they could have got something from. However, they're unbeaten in their last two, beating Newcastle United before earning a credible draw against Chelsea in mid-week. 

As for Watford, they've far exceeded expectations during their first season back in England's top divison. With many thinking that they'd face a battle to survive relegation, Odion Ighalo's goals have propelled them to 9th place, 10 points clear of the drop zone. They've beaten the likes of Liverpool at home and Stoke City away on the way to this position, the Hornets can move as high as seventh with victory today. 

So, where better to start than the current positions of the two teams? Well, it's fair to say that each side is having a smashing season. Tottenham, guided by Mauricio Pochettino, are constantly improving, and currently find themselves in third place in the league. They're ahead of rivals Arsenal, five points clear in the race for a Champions League spot, and only five points away from the top of the league. Could they do the unthinkable and win it? Who knows. 

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to VAVEL UK's live minute-by-minute commentary of this Premier League fixture, between Tottenham Hotspur and Watford. I'm Oliver Emmerson, and I'll be guiding you through the match, which is set to get underway at around 15:00 BST. Whilst we've got a little while until then, stick with us for the confirmed starting XI's, and build up to what promises to be an exciting affair.