Tottenham thump Stoke 0-4 to send a clear title warning to Leicester

Tottenham thump Stoke 0-4 to send a clear title warning to Leicester
oliveremmerson
By Oliver Emmerson
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Unfortunately, that's all we've got time for tonight. I've been Oliver Emmerson, taking you through Tottenham's thumping of Stoke City. Until next time, goodbye.

Harry Kane gave Tottenham the lead in the first half, and he'd add a second for himself in the second half, which sandwiched a brace for Dele Alli. Mauricio Pochettino's side were superb.

An absolutely dominant, ruthless performance from Spurs as they sweep Stoke aside to close the gap to five points with four games to go. 

Full-time: Stoke City 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur

90+1: Lloris makes a good save from a Joselu volley, seconds after three minutes of stoppage time are announced.

89: Chadli cuts through the Stoke defence far too easily for Mark Hughes' liking, but he can't make the most of it as the Belgian shoots over. Lamela off for Son.

84: No hat-trick for Alli tonight, he's substituted for Chadli.

82: Brilliant finish from Dele Alli. Eriksen is allowed all the time in the world to drift into the area, he clips the ball towards Alli around 12 yards out, with the young midfielder sending the ball into the bottom corner for his 10th league goal of the season.

GOAL! Alli at the double, Spurs have four.

79: Oh look, a Charlie Adam yellow card. In other news, water is wet. The midfielder pulls down Lamela on the wing, having quickly realised that he was in a race he was never going to win.

76: Mark Hughes makes a change, Charlie Adam coming on for Glen Whelan for the final 15 minutes or so.

71: Excellent counter-attacking from Tottenham after Stoke get a corner, Eriksen to Alli, he gives it to Lamela, who sets Kane up with the simplest of tap-in's to make it three. 

GOAL! No they won't, Kane makes it three!

70: What a miss! Alli is through on goal, sits Given down as he goes around him, and then hits the post when presented with an open goal from five yards out. Manager Pochettino collapses to the ground and bangs the grass in disbelief, will his side live to regret that miss?

68: Christian Eriksen guides a beautiful ball over the top of the Stoke defence, putting Alli through and he sends a composed dink over the head of a falling Shay Given. That should be job done for Spurs. "Leicester City, we're coming for you" sing the away fans.

GOAL! Dele Alli doubles the lead!

61: After some questionable decision's in the first half, Neil Swarbrick finally awards the first yellow card of the half. Imbula gets it for kicking the ball away after conceding a free-kick.

57: Lamela gets on the end of a Walker cross which evades everyone else, but can only win a corner as Given saves at his near post.

54: Good opportunity for Dele Alli, missed. Eriksen tee's him up in the penalty area and he seemingly gets his angles right to curl the ball, but the shot is too powerful and way over the bar. Mauricio Pochettino frustrated in the dugout, his side should be out of sight by now.

49: Drama up at the other end. Danny Rose, who isn't popular with the home fans, surges clear on goal, only to go down under the challenge of Cameron. It did look like a fair challenge, with Rose slipping, and nothing is correctly given.

48: Afellay thunders a shot a few yards wide after the ball drops kindly to him, the Dutchman snatched a little at it.

45: Underway in the second half.

Substitution for Stoke at the break, Joselu on for Shaqiri, who picked up a knock in the first half. 

Spurs a goal to the good at the break thanks to a brilliant finish from Harry Kane, his 23rd league goal of the season. Christian Eriksen will be disappointed not to have made it two-nil with the last chance of the half.

Half-time: Stoke City 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Kane 10')

42: Off the bar - and he should have scored! Quick, tricky, passing and movement from Spurs before Alli flicks Eriksen through on goal. He lifts it over Given with a powerful strike as the ball bounces, but it crashes back off the bar.

40: Lovely ball from Shaqiri to find Arnautovic's run behind the Tottenham defence, but the forward drags his effort wide.

34: Cracker of a strike from Dembele! A long lasting Spurs attack ends in the ball rolling towards Dembele on the edge, with his strike flying narrowly wide.

29: Stoke enjoying much more of the ball now, but Bojan wastes a decent chance. The ball fell to the Spaniard after Pieters' cross deflected off Walker, only for him to slice well over.

27: Hugo Lloris called into action for the first time tonight. Arnautovic, Stoke's top scorer this season, drives a powerful effort with his left foot, but the Frenchman is equal to it - beating the ball away.

26: Geoff Cameron takes the ball on the right side, standing a lovely cross up towards the back post. Bojan looks to be getting on the end of it, only for a super intercepting header from Toby Alderweireld to see the ball out for a corner.

22: Chance for Spurs after a quick counter, profiting from Bojan losing the ball. Kyle Walker eventually overhits a poor pass towards Lamela, the ball breaking kindly for Alli, only for the youngster to volley over.

14: Stoke corner after Bojan has a shot blocked wide, but Shaqiri's final delivery is poor after a nicely worked short corner routine.

10: Fantastic goal from Kane to put Spurs 1-0 up. Dembele drives through the centre before slipping the ball to his teammate a touch to the left. Kane takes the ball, cutting inside before whipping it across goal to beat Given. Tottenham with an early lead.

GOAL! It's that man, Harry Kane puts Tottenham ahead!

7: Lovely through ball from Lamela, who's started well, to Kane. However, the striker's first touch isn't good enough and Shay Given saves the eventual shot.

4: Lamela with an inviting ball into the box from a free-kick just inside the Stoke half, but it's cleared by the hosts.

0: Kick-off

Not long until kick-off now, the players are out and ready to go! 

Tottenham Hotspur substitutes: Vorm, Davies, Wimmer, Trippier, Mason, Son, Chadli.

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Dier, Dembele, Lamela, Eriksen, Son, Alli, Kane.

Stoke City substitutes: Haugaard, Bardsley, Adam, Ireland, Joselu, Diouf, Crouch. 

Stoke City XI: Given, Pieters, Wollscheid, Shawcross, Cameron, Whelan, Imbula, Afellay, Shaqiri, Arnautovic, Bojan.

We've got the team news in!

Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be hoping to add to his tally of 22 Premier League goals for the season today, a total that puts him top of the goalscoring charts alongside Jamie Vardy. Sergio Aguero is breathing down their necks with 21, so the Englishman will be looking to pull clear tonight.

These two teams met on just the second weekend of the season, sharing the spoils in an entertaining affair in London. Tottenham were cruising at 2-0 up with 15 minutes to play thanks to goals from Eric Dier and Nacer Chadli, only for late strikes from Marko Arnautovic and Mame Biram Diouf to ensure the spoils were shared. That result was the two teams' first point of the season each, putting them in 13th and 14th place respectively - positions from which they've hugely improved on.

Tottenham players celebrate a goal against Manchester United last weekend (photo: Guardian)
Tottenham players celebrate a goal against Manchester United last weekend (photo: Guardian)

Tottenham have lost just one of their last six league matches, winning three and drawing one. They've also faced Liverpool recently, dropping points in a 1-1 draw at Anfield, before thrashing Manchester United 3-0 at White Hart Lane last weekend.

How about the recent form of each team? Stoke have been extremely inconsistent recently, winning two, drawing two and losing two of their last six games. The most recent result was a hammering away at Liverpool last Sunday, two Divock Origi goals helping the Reds to a comfortable win.

As for Stoke, a win tonight wouldn't move them up from their current position of ninth, but they'd be within a point of seventh placed Southampton if they can win. However, with Manchester United, West Ham and Liverpool all looking unlikely to drop enough points in order for Stoke to finish in a European spot, it's up to Mark Hughes to motivate the Potters.

Sitting in second place, Tottenham are now eight points behind Leicester. A win tonight would leave them five points adrift of top spot with four games left for each side, increasing the pressure on the Foxes hugely. Following this game, Spurs have West Brom, Chelsea, Southampton and Newcastle United to play. Leicester face Swansea City, Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea. Interestingly, Tottenham play after Leicester in each of the remaining match-weeks, meaning they'll always be looking to capitalise on Claudio Ranieri's men dropping points.

Arsenal's draw against Crystal Palace further assured Spurs that they're going to finish in the top three and gain automatic qualification for the Champions League, but Leicester's 2-2 result against West Ham United offered Mauricio Pochettino's side a glimmor of hope in their title challenge.

Sunday was all about the other end of the table though, as Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 2-1 to move further away from Stoke, decreasing the Potters' chance of finishing in the European spots. The other two results were of great interest to Spurs, with Arsenal and Leicester City both dropping points.

On Saturday, Aston Villa's relegation was finally confirmed as they lost away to Manchester United. It could have been confirmed earlier in the day, had Norwich City not been soundly beaten by Sunderland. Fellow relegation strugglers Newcastle United responded to that result with an impressive 3-0 home win against Swansea City.

Now we're in mid-April, we're firmly into the business end of the Premier League season, and there's much to play for. We've already seen a dramatic weekend, full of storylines. 

Good evening everyone, and welcome to VAVEL UK's live minute-by-minute commentary of tonight's only Premier League fixture - Stoke City facing Tottenham Hotspur at the Britannia Stadium. Kick-off in Stoke is set for 8PM BST, but stick with us until then as we get confirmed team news and more ahead of the game.