FT: Aston Villa 1 Tottenham 1

93 That's it, the spoils are shared at Villa Park. Spurs dominated the second half and will feel they deserved to win but Villa's defence was superbly organised at all times.

92 Defoe almost claims the win for Spurs as his long-range effort goes inches wide of goal.

91 Dunne picks out Agbonlahor who passes to Ashley Young. He makes a few turns and fires the ball goalwards where Heskey stoops low to head the ball just over the crossbar.

90 Beye overhits a long pass intended for Agbonlahor and the ball goes out for a Spurs goal-kick.

89 Milner collects the ball on the right and crosses straigt to Assou-Ekotto, wasting possession in the process.

88 Agbonlahor chests the ball down and passes to Milner who finds himself surrounded by Spurs players with no one to pass to. He does well to win a throw-in.

87 Basong wins another battle as he outmuscles Agbonlahor to break up a rare Villa attack.

85 Luke Young's clearance screws off his boot and Spurs win a corner deep inside the Villa half. The ball falls to Milner who lobs it over the Spurs defence for Agbonlahor to chase but Bassong wins the race and plays it back to Gomes.

84 Villa surge forward through Petrov but he runs into a dead end and has to play the ball all the way back to his defence.

82 Spurs walk the ball towards the Villa penalty area as the home team packs everyone into the defence. Huddlestone shoots again from distance and wins a corner that comes to nothing.

81 Villa are on the backfoot again as Corluka crosses from the right. Some desperate defending from the home side averts the danger but Spurs are dominating proceedings at the moment and look like scoring a second.

79 Robbie Keane has come on to replace Kranjcar. Lennon cuts in from the right and Cuellar makes a great tackle to deny him a shot on goal.

77 GOAL DAWSON: Defoe's shot from distance is blocked but the clearance hits Dawson who reacts quickly and thumps the ball into the top left corner. The replays show that he handled the ball before the shot but the goal will stand.

76 Huddlestone's cross hits Dunne in the face and goes out for a corner. There are some halfhearted penalty appeals from the Spurs players but the ref isn't interested.

75 Carew departs the action as Emile Heskey, who scored in his last game for Villa, makes his way onto the pitch.

74 Lennon's cross from the right is blocked by Sidwell and goes out for a Spurs throw.

73 Defoe gets the ball in the back of the net but it won't count. Huddlestone's shot is palmed away by Friedel and Sidwell tries to head clear but it hits Defoe on the hand before he taps it home. The referee spotted the handball and denies the goal.

72 Sidwell announces his arrival with an ambitious shot that slices off his boot and goes high into the stands.

71 Crouch lays the ball off for Kranjcar and makes a run into space but the Croat decides to shoot from distance and scoops his shot high and wide.

70 Steve Sidwell comes on to replace Reo-Coker.

69 Crouch heads the ball across goal where Luke Young misjudges his clearance badly. The ball seems to hit Lennon on the hand but the referee waves play on and Young finally manages to clear on the third attempt.

67 Villa win a free-kick inside the Spurs half after Carew is fouled. The delivery is cleared but Villa sweep forward again. Milner shoots from thirty yards out but the shot is wildly off target.

65 Defoe collects the ball just outsdie the penalty area and sends Kranjcar clear on the left. He crosses but the ball is deflected off a Villa defender and out for a corner.

64 A rare forward foray from Villa is ended by Dawson's interception. He lobs the ball upfield for Defoe. The striker beats the offside trap but the pass is a bit heavy and Friedel comes off his line to claim the ball.

63 Luke Young clears the ball upfield but it comes right back and Defoe shoots from the edge of the penalty area only for Cuellar to make a block.

61 Corluka chips the ball over the defence for Palacios. Petrov tracks back to make a tackle but ends up conceding a corner which Spurs once again fail to make count.

60 It's all Spurs at the moment as Villa are pinned down in the final third.

59 Spurs pass the ball on the edge of the Villa penalty area with Huddlestone shaping to shoot twice only for some quick closing down to deny him.

58 Huddlestone's drive from distance is deflected to Crouch but his first touch is terrible and a scoring chance goes a-begging.

56 The two sides trade throw-ins inside the Villa half. Lennon tries to run at the defence but there's very little space on the right. He does find Kranjcar with a good pass but there appears to be no way through the resolute Villa defence.

55 End to end stuff at the moment. Carew wins a throw-in on the left for Villa.

54 Kranjcar crosses from the right and the ball is heading straight to an unmarked Crouch but Beye gets in a telling header to avert the danger for the time being as Spurs win a corner.

53 Spurs win a free-kick on the right of the Villa penalty area. This looks promising. Kranjcar dips the ball towards the far post looking for Crouch but the ball falls for Villa, who launch a quick counter.

52 Lennon looks to cut in from the right and create a scoring chance but his touch is heavy and he loses the ball. Villa counter at pace and Luke Young's cross is headed wide by Agbonlahor.

50 Carew heads wide of goal after a superb atacking move from Villa that swept across the pitch from side to side.

49 Crouch tees the ball up for Kranjcar outside the Villa penalty area and he wacks a rocket of a shot on target, forcing a great save from Friedel.

48 Lennon tries to backheel the ball into the path of Defoe as Spurs break on the counter but Petrov reads his intentions and nips in to intercept.

47 Carew claims he was fouled in the penalty area by Sebastien Bassong but the referee disagrees and waves play on.

46 The second half gets under way with Villa taking the kick-off. Crouch tries to send Lennon clear on the right after Spurs win the ball but Luke Young intercepts and heads clear.

Betting: With Villa in the lead at half-time Spurs' odds to win the game have lengthened from 2/1 to 6/1. Spurs have looked good in attack and 6/1 on Aaron Lennon to score seems an interesting bet. Make your way to www.skybet.com for these and plenty of other markets.

46 Mr Dowd blows his whistle to bring the half to an end.

45 Lots of aimless passing inside their own half by Spurs. They eventually win a free-kick that Huddlestone takes. Dawson heads the ball on target but straight at Friedel.

43 Corluka's cross from the right is headed down by Crouch but there's no-one to capitalise on the move and Cuellar thumps it clear.

42 Play is still taking place mostly in the Villa half but Spurs are not creating too many chances.

41 Kranjcar takes the free-kick and bangs it straight into the wall. He collects the rebound and finds a way through with a weak shot that dribbles straight to Friedel.

40 Corluka is inside the Villa half as Spurs look for an equaliser before the break. Kranjcar wins a free-kick directly in front of goal, thirty yards out.

38 Palacios sends a weak pass towards Corluka, allowing Ashley Young to intercept. Beye makes his way to the byline and is enraged when the linesman flags for a goal-kick as he believes Assou-Ekotto touched it last.

37 Villa send men forward as Young sends a free-kick into the penalty area. Corluka's weak header goes towards his own goal before Dawson nips in to thump the ball clear.

35 What is supposed to be a defence-splitting pass from Corluka goes out for a Villa goal-kick with none of the Spurs attackers making a run.

34 Kranjcar sends another looping pass into the Villa penalty area as he looks to exploit Crouch's height advantage but the Villa defenders are wise to the plan and Reo-Coker heads the ball clear.

33 Beye thumps a free-kick upfield where Carew nods it on for Agbonlahor who fails to collect in a dangerous position.

32 There's been a slight lull in the action as the two sides decide to take their respective feet off the gas. Spurs are edging the battle for possession but Villa look more incisive going forward.

29 Gary Hackett has an interesting question: "I'm a Spurs season ticket holder from the Republic of Ireland..i'm wondering does the exclusion of robbie keane have anything to do with his mental state after the disappointment against france last week?"

28 Dawson goes over the top, hoping to pick out Defoe's run on the right but even an acrobatic jump from the striker can't quite get him to the ball.

27 Huddlestone shoots from thirty yards out and a deflection off Reo-Coker means Friedel has to backpedal furiously to tip the ball over the bar. From the corner Defoe shoots over the crossbar.

26 Nigel Reo-Coker runs from defence and is released on goal by a good pass from Petrov. The Villa defender is in plenty of space but miscues his strike entirely and fails to trouble Gomes.

25 David Newman writes in: "Im a Tottenham season ticket holder listening to the game in the south of Israel - it will be a close one today, with a 2-1 win for Tottenham. i realise that Harry wants to remain faithful to those who played last week but i think it may have been better to start with Robbie in the starting 11, and Crouch to come on later."

24 Luke Young upends Aaron Lennon with a clattering challenge but wins the ball and play continues. Milner makes a great run down the right with Assou-Ekotto out of position but the cross to the middle is too close to Gomes.

23 Villa win another corner, their sixth of the game, but Dawson clears the delivery without any problems.

21 James Milner spins away from his marker in midfield and picks out Agbonlahor inside the Spurs penalty area. He fires a left-footed shot well wide of goal.

20 Spurs enjoy a great spell of attacking play and Dawson has a shot cleared off the line after Friedel palms Defoe's shot into the Spurs defender's path.

19 Wilson Palacios beats a defender on the edge of the area but his pass across the face of goal, meant to find Defoe, is easily dealt with by Richard Dunne.

18 Habib Beye takes a throw-in right in the corner of Villa's half.

16 Kranjcar tries to send Defoe clear with a great pass from close to the halfway line but the striker sets off on his run just a fraction late and Friedel can come of his line to collect the ball.

15 Villa win two corners in quick succession as they pile on the pressure but they fail to convert either into a decent chance.

14 Stiliyan Petrov picks out Luke Young with a well-weighted diagonal pass but the Villa left-back fails to control the ball on his chest and the danger abates.

12 Agbonlahor outpaces Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the right and crosses to the centre but there are plenty of Spurs defenders to deal with the danger.

10 Villa have their tails up and Carew outmuscles his marker to get on the end of a long ball but his header goes towards the touchline, not the goal.

9 GOAL AGBONLAHOR: From a corner Carlos Cuellar heads the ball across the goal from the near post where Agbonlahor bundles it over following a misstimed clearance by Michael Dawson.

9 Carew pops up on the right and looks to pick out Gabriel Agbonlahor in the middle but has to settle for a corner.

8 Carew tries his luck from distance but his powerfully struck shot clears the crossbar.

7 Young sends a free-kick goalwards from his own half but the delivery is too deep and Gomes claims it with ease.

6 John Carew crosses from the left but Vedran Corluka sticks out a leg to block the ball and concede a corner. Peter Crouch heads the delivery behind goal for a second corner. This one is easily cleared by the Spurs defence.

5 Spurs break on the counter and the ball comes to Niko Kranjcar on the edge of the area. He fires a stinging shot on target that Brad Friedel does well to tip over the bar and out for a corner.

4 Villa attack down the left flank as James Milner and Ashley Young combine well.

3 Spurs win a throw-in deep inside the Villa half but fail to create any forward momentum, with the ball eventually making its way back to Gomes.

2 Heurelho Gomes gets an early touch as Tom Huddlestone heads the ball back to him from midfield.

1 Referee Phil Dowds signals the start of the game and we're underway at Villa Park. Both sides have Champions League ambitions so a victory today could be a huge psychological boost

Today's teams:

Aston Villa: Friedel, Luke Young, Beye, Cuellar, Dunne, Milner, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Carew Subs: Guzan, Sidwell, Downing, Delph, Heskey, Gardner, Clark

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Kranjcar, Defoe, Crouch Subs: Alnwick, Hutton, Bale, Bentley, Jenas, Keane, Rose

Bucking the trend of predicting a Spurs win is Villa fan Jon: "I feel that Tottenham will be brought back to earth with a victory for Villa tonight. With Milner and Carew on the score sheet and Crouch getting a consolation."

Nicholas Panayiotou is another Spurs fan: "I'm a life long Spurs fan and have been feeling quietly confident about Spurs progress under Harry Redknapp. Last weeks mauling of Wigan I believe was an excellent show of attacking power, but I still believe our back four needs to be looked at. Villa will provide a much sterner test of where we stand in the league and I feel that with the likes of Carew, Young and Milner, we will see if we are real top four contenders this season or not. COYS!!!!"

The mails are coming through thick and fast with Terry Holsgrove the first to get the following in: "I think its gonna be a great game tonight with plenty of goals. Both teams will be going for glory to prove they have what it takes to break into the top 4 and I predict it will be 3-2 to Spurs."

Betting: Following his exploits against Wigan, Jermain Defoe is 40/1 to score a hat-trick today. Both these sides have been in fine scoring form so a bet on a 2-2 draw at 14/1 also seems an appealing prospect. For these and more odds make your way to www.skybet.com

Pre-match info: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill makes two changes - one of them enforced - for the home meeting with Tottenham.

Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is preferred to Steve Sidwell while left-back Stephen Warnock is ruled out through illness. That means a recall at right-back for Habib Beye with Luke Young switching to the opposite flank to replace Warnock.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp makes one alteration to the side that thumped Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane last weekend.

Central defender Jonathan Woodgate is absent with a groin problem and his role is taken over by Sebastien Bassong.

Good afternoon and welcome to Aston Villa v Tottenham. Send your thoughts on the game to justin.zehmke@teamtalkmedia.co.za and I'll post the best ones as we go along.