Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of this afternoon's top-of-the-table clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
A month ago, this would have been billed as a match between two title contenders. However a couple of costly defeats mean that Spurs are now looking over their shoulder rather than at the Manchester duo above them.
The big team news comes from the Spurs camp. Gareth Bale misses out, as does Rafael van der Vaart.
Wayne Rooney has recovered from illness to start for United and will be looking to fire them to within two points of rivals Manchester City at the Premier League summit.
> Full team news for today's game
FULL-TIME: How does the phrase go? Not playing well and still winning is a sign of champions - and that's exactly what United have done today. Spurs enjoyed more of the ball but will be ruing a couple of sloppy defensive moments. Ashley Young picks up the inaugural 'Joe Fish Sports Mole Live Commentary Man of the Match award', for two excellent finishes. So United move to within two points of City and leave Tottenham 13 points adrift. The title race is now definitely a two horse race. Thanks for joining Sports Mole this afternoon.
FULL-TIME: Martin Atkinson blows the final whistle. Full time at White Hart Lane.
91 min: Saying that, Adebayor is in on goal but Ferdinand makes a smart challenge. Rose sends a dangerous low cross in but Defoe, who missed the ball anyway, was in an offside position.
90 min: No signs of the comeback of the century. The fourth official raises the board and there will be three minutes of added time.
87 min: Out of the blue Spurs grab a goal but it's surely only to be a consolation. Ryan Giggs plays a sloppy pass back towards Evans and Defoe intercepts before applying a smart finish.
87 min: GOAL!! Jermain Defoe - United 3-1 Spurs.
84 min: Another change for Spurs - Lennon is given six minutes rest, with Danny Rose taking his place.
78 min: Substitutions galore now. Park replaces Nani for United while Redknapp brings on Kranjcar and Defoe for Sandro and Saha.
77 min: The game is fizzling out now. Tottenham look a beaten side, but they shouldn't be disappointed with their performance. If they continue to play like this for the remainder of the season, they shouldn't have a problem finishing in the top four.
72 min: Lennon has been Spurs's biggest attacking threat. Space opens up for him and the winger doesn't need a second invitation to run into it. Unfortunately the left-footed shot was miles off target.
70 min: United will now have an eye on eclipsing City's feat of beating the Lillywhites 5-1 at the Lane back in August. They've not been anywhere near their best today, but this is Manchester United- you wouldn't put it past them.
69 min: Young makes it 3-0 with a superb strike. Evra cuts in from the left and finds the former Aston Villa man, who is in space on the edge of the box. He turns and curls a shot past Friedel. Game over.
68 min: GOAL!! Ashley Young- Manchester United 3-0.
64 min: Despite trailing 2-0, Spurs are still having the larger share of possession, but are struggling to convert it into clear chances. Assou-Ekotto has another go on goal but this time his effort is straight at De Gea.
60 min: To make matters worse for the hosts, Ryan Giggs is on. The Welshman has netted more times against Spurs than he has any other club.
59 min: United have scored against the run of play again! Spurs defenders switch off for a split second and the Red Devils take a quick throw in. Nani's ball across the area is cleared partially by Walker but Young finds the bottom corner with an excellent finish.
59 min: GOAL!! Ashley Young- Manchester United 2-0.
58 min: Spurs hit the crossbar! Assou-Ekotto comes close to equalising for Tottenham but his free kick doesn't quite dip enough and clips the top of the bar.
55 min: Tottenham continue to have more of the ball. Adebayor chests it down to Saha whose shot in on target, but blocked by Ferdinand before Lennon's cross is turned behind for a corner by Evans.
51 min: Great save from De Gea! Spurs play the ball around nicely and it eventually comes to Livermore on the edge of the box. He shoots low and the deflection off Louis Saha looked to be taking it in, but De Gea reacts quickly to get a strong hand to it.
48 min: Ironic cheers from the Tottenham faithful greet Atkinson's decision to award Adebayor a free kick. Inevitable.
46 min: Adebayor shares a joke with Martin Atkinson as the players reemerge for the second period. Spurs get us back underway...
HALF-TIME: Spurs will go into the break frustrated. They've been the better side and may feel that Adebayor's 'goal' was unjustly ruled out. Alex Ferguson won't be happy with how United have played despite their one goal advantage. The hosts need to get Modric and Lennon more involved in their attacking play if they are to pull this back.
HALF-TIME: Rooney's goal was pretty much the last action of the first period. Boos ring around White Hart Lane, directed at referee Atkinson for his decision to disallow Adebayor's goal.
44 min: Rooney opens the scoring for United with a header from Young's corner. A scrappy goal for Spurs to concede as the England frontman loses his marker, Kyle Walker, before nodding in from close range.
44 min: GOAL!! Wayne Rooney- 1-0 Manchester United.
42 min: Sandro is booked for a late tackle on Ashley Young. That's 1-1 in terms of yellow cards but the scoresheet is still blank as we approach half time.
37 min: Finally something to really talk about. There's controversy as Emmanuel Adebayor has a goal disallowed. Lennon was the architect down the Spurs left, beating Jones before crossing into the box. Saha's shot is inadvertently blocked on the line by Adebayor who turns it in, only for Martin Atkinson to rule it out for handball. It certainly wasn't deliberate but probably the right call from the referee.
35 min: Rooney attempts on audacious flick at the near post from a United corner but straight into Friedel's hands.
32 min: Waiting for this game to really come to life. Spurs have had more of the ball over the last fifteen minutes without looking threatening. Perhaps lacking the cutting edge in the absence of Bale and Van der Vaart.
27 min: Free kick in a promising position for the hosts after Jones trips Saha. The England defender is booked for the challenge. Kaboul is over it preparing a thunderbolt. I've watched every Spurs game this year and I've never seen him put one on target. Unsurprisingly, this one is wide but via a deflection, and Spurs have a corner.
26 min: Kyle Walker, a fitness doubt before the game is down after going over on his ankle. Thankfully it doesn't look too serious and he's back on his feet.
22 min: Pinball in the United box. The ball is eventually cleared but there were nervous groans from the travelling fans as the ball nearly dropped kindly for Saha, who is looking eager to score against his former club.
21 min: Rooney collects the ball deep and runs into the Spurs half before finding Welbeck, but the England striker is muscled off the ball by Younes Kaboul.
18 min: Best chance of the game so far. De Gea's kick is poor and Sandro heads the ball into the path of Adebayor. The Togo international turns and runs at goal but the Spanish keeper makes amends with a decent save. From the resulting corner, Kaboul heads wide for Spurs, who have started well considering their high profile absentees.
15 min: Shock horror! Paul Scholes gives the ball away with a rare misguided pass. Modric picks it up and plays in Saha whose shot is again comfortable for De Gea.
13 min: Spurs are enjoying their best spell of possession so far, but it's not in an area that would concern the visitors.
9 min: Straight from that Spurs counter but Lennon takes the ball too far and is eventually tackled by Evans. The England winger doesn't have the end product like his absent teammate Bale often has.
8 min: Rooney is finding space in between Spurs's midfield and defence. On this occasion though his shot is comfortably held by Friedel.
5 min: Welbeck registers United's first effort but it is well over the crossbar, while Adebayor comes slightly closer for Spurs at the other end.
4 min: Saha turns Scholes well on the edge of the box. The ball comes out to Modric who returns it to a just onside Saha- but his shot is tame and straight at De Gea.
2 min: Thumping challenge from Jones on Assou-Ekotto but no foul given. Spurs counter with Lennon down the right but his cross is blocked by Evra. United started the better.
1 min: We're underway here at White Hart Lane...
Joe Fish
