Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League Group J opener against Lazio at White Hart Lane.
Tonight's match will see Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas take charge of his first game in the competition since he masterminded Porto's triumph in the 2011 final.
Villas-Boas has vowed to take his side's European campaign seriously this season and the Portuguese has backed up his promise by naming a very strong starting XI tonight.
10.10pmThanks for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match. Goodnight.
10.09pmSpurs' next Europa League fixture is away to Panathinaikos on Thursday, October 4.
10.07pmElsewhere in Group J, NK Maribor have beaten Panathinaikos 3-0 in Slovenia.
10.04pmSpurs will feel a little bit aggrieved with that scoreline, having hit the net three times. However, a point against an unbeaten Serie A side is not to be sniffed at.
Full timeFull-time result: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Lazio
90+4minSubstitutions. Both managers make seemingly pointless changes with just moments remaining. Hernanes is replaced by Ciani for Lazio, while Ryan Mason makes his first Spurs appearance since 2008 in place of Dembele.
90+2minChance for Spurs! Naughton's deep cross from the right is headed wide by Townsend, who had Bale, Sigurdsson and Defoe waiting for a knock down.
90+1minSigurdsson's delivery is well cleared.
90minThree minutes of added time are indicated.
90minFree kick to Spurs near the right corner flag for a foul on Townsend by Lulic.
85minBooking! Naughton sprints over the halfway line beyond Mauri and is barged to the floor by the experienced midfielder.
82minSubstitution for Spurs. Townsend enters the field in place of Lennon. The captain's armband is handed to Defoe.
81minSubstitution for Lazio. Former Birmingham City forward Zarate will come on in place of Onazi.
76minSubstitution for Spurs. Dempsey is replaced by Sigurdsson. Bale seems to be moving fine now. What a tease!
75minBale is limping, after landing awkwardly.
71minGoal disallowed! Caulker rises highest at the far post and nods Bale's deep in-swinging corner down into the net. The goal is ruled out for an apparent push on Mauri. Bad decision.
70minThe game is delayed for a good 90 seconds as a UEFA official is sent down the player's tunnel to find another ball.
67minPenalty shout! Bale's free kick is well cleared, however Klose gets away with an apparent barge on Dempsey off the ball.
66minBooking! Gonzalez commits another foul on Lennon in an almost identical position. His is rightly shown the yellow card.
64minGolden chance for Spurs! Bale's in-swinging free kick is met by Sandro four yards out, but the Brazilian midfielder's effort skews wide.
63minLennon is brought down by a late sliding tackle from Gonzalez. Free kick to Spurs on the right corner of the penalty area.
63minBooking! Dias is shown a yellow card for halting Bale's progress on the halfway line. Both Lazio centre-backs are now carrying cautions.
58minGoal disallowed! Spurs have the ball in the net for a second time tonight. Bale plays a one-two with Dembele, before squaring for Defoe to tap home. The Welsh winger was clearly offside.
52minPenalty shout for Spurs! Defoe slips the ball into Lennon, who hits the deck under powerful upper-body contact from Lulic. The England defender returns to his feet and pokes the ball goalwards. Marchetti makes a good save, but the ball rebounds to Dempsey, whose shot from close range deflects just wide.
51minLloris makes a loud shout before commanding collecting a high cross on the edge of his six-yard box. The Frenchman is then roundly applauded by the Spurs faithful.
47minDembele slides a terrific pass down the left to Bale. The Welshman gets in behind Lazio, before being crowded out and scuffing his cross into the goalkeeper's arms.
46minLazio kick off.
9.07pmNeither manager has decided to make a change during the interval and the second half is moments just away.
9.04pmElsewhere in Group J, NK Maribor hold a 1-0 half-time lead over Panathinaikos in Slovenia.
9.02pmLazio have committed 11 fouls, compared to Spurs' four.
9.01pmMeanwhile, Lazio have attempted three shots, all of which have failed to hit the target.
8.59pmAndre Villas-Boas's men have enjoyed 65.4 percent of the possession so far and have hit the target with both of their shots.
8.55pmSpurs made a bright start, however Lazio have grown into the game and look very dangerous on the break.
Half timeReferee Ovidiu Alin Hategan blows up 16 seconds early. After 44 minutes and 44 seconds of play at White Hart Lane, it remains Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Lazio.
42minWoodwork! Gonzalez rattle's Lloris's crossbar with a dipping 25-yard volley following Vertonghen's tame headed clearance.
39minLazio fans begin to chant about Paul Gascoigne, who famously played for both clubs in the 1990s. Spurs fans applaud their Italian counterparts and then reply with their own rendition.
34minChance for Lazio! Klose completely misses the ball as he attempts a volley from 18 yards out. Spurs are living a little dangerously right now.
33minDembele makes a loose pass in the centre of midfield, which is pounced upon by Klose. The German goal-machine sprints into the penalty area, before Vertonghen denies him further progress with a good block.
28minDempsey drives low into the wall from the resultant free-kick.
27minBooking! Lennon's pace is causing real problems for Lazio. He darts past Biava, who cynically brings down the England winger just outside the penalty area. Yellow card.
24minReplays have shown that the decision was incorrect. The American was dead level with the last defender.
22minGoal disallowed! Bale cuts inside onto his left foot and dinks in a cross to Dempsey, who finds the net from seven yards with a diving header. However, the offside flag had been raised.
19minChance for Spurs! Lennon plays a clever one-two with Defoe and then finds himself in on goal. The winger unselfishly tries to square the ball to Bale, but his pass is poor. However, Cavanda's clearance falls at Lennon's feet and he crosses to Bale, whose header is tipped over the bar for a corner.
17minBale's delivery is poor and Lazio clear.
16minSpurs are awarded a free kick on the right 40 yards from goal, following a foul by Gonzalez on Walker.
12minSpurs go straight up the other end and Defoe tries his luck from the edge of the area. Easy save for Marchetti, though.
11minChance for Lazio! The Italians hit Spurs on the break and Ledesma fires in a low cross that Klose is just inches away from tapping home.
11minChance for Lazio! The Italians hit Spurs on the break and Ledesma fires in a low cross that Klose is just inches away from tapping home.
11minChance for Lazio! The Italians hit Spurs on the break and Ledesma fires in a low cross that Klose is just inches away from tapping home.
10minDempsey registers the first shot of his Tottenham career. His ambitious left-footed effort from 25 yards is well blocked by Ledesma.
6minLedesma goes in late on Sandro and is a little fortunate not to receive a yellow card. Free kick to Spurs on the half-way line.
6minLedesma goes in late on Sandro and is a little fortunate not to receive a yellow card. Free Kick to Spurs on the half-way line.
2minThe hosts have made a very assured start and no Lazio player has yet been able to make a controlled touch on the football.
8.05pmSpurs get us underway.
8.04pmHe does, but in a much more reserved manner than Gallas's usual style.
7.59pmHere come the teams. Spurs are led out by skipper Lennon, who is the shortest player on the pitch. It will be interesting to see whether he takes charge in the pre-match huddle...
7.54pmLazio subs: Albano Bizarri, Michael Ciani, Lionel Scaloni, Ederson, Mauro Zarate, Libor Kozak, Sergio Floccari
7.53pmSpurs subs: Carlo Cudicini, Tom Huddlestone, William Gallas, Michael Dawson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason
7.49pmManager Edoardo Reja has made two changes from the team that began Sunday's 3-1 win at Chievo. Lulic and Onazi have replaced Antonio Candreva and Abdouley Konko in midfield.
7.45pmLazio are defending a 100 percent start to the season. The Rome outfit have won all three of the matches in Serie A, as well as both legs of their Europa League play-off against Mura Murska.
7.42pmSpurs are captained by Lennon. The 25-year-old is Tottenham's longest-serving member among the starting XI, having been at the club for seven years, two months and 20 days.
7.38pmTottenham have arguably named their strongest possible lineup for tonight's match. AVB has made three changes from the weekend's 3-1 win over Reading. Dempsey and Caulker come in for Gylfi Sigurdsson and William Gallas, while France goalkeeper Lloris makes his debut in place of Brad Friedel.
7.32pmLazio team: Federico Marchetti, Andre Dias, Giuseppe Biava, Luis Pedro Cavanda, Stefano Mauri, Hernanes, Alvaro Gonzalez, Senad Lulic, Ogenyi Onazi, Cristian Ledesma, Miroslav Klose
7.29pmSpurs team: Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker, Steven Caulker, Jan Vertonghen, Kyle Naughton, Aaron Lennon, Mousa Dembele, Sandro, Gareth Bale, Clint Dempsey, Jermain Defoe.
Written by
Robert Summerscales
Robert Summerscales
