Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of the match between Anzhi Makhachkala and Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League.

After they opened up with a easy win over Tromso on matchday one, things will get trickier for Spurs this evening as they attempt to return from Russia with a positive result that would leave them in control of the group.

The team news is in from Russia. As expected, Andre Villas-Boas has made plenty of changes to his starting lineup.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR XI: Lloris; Walker, Chiriches, Kaboul, Fryers; Dembele, Sandro; Lamela, Holtby, Chadli; Defoe

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR SUBSTITUTES: Friedel, Dawson, Naughton, Eriksen, Sigurdsson, Kane, Soldado

So there you have it. Villas-Boas retains just three of the team that began the match against Chelsea at the weekend - Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker and Moussa Dembele. Vlad Chiriches and Zeki Fryers have been handed their first European start for Spurs, while as expected, Jermain Defoe starts in attack.

As for the players that are missing, Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado have taken a place on the bench, while it had already been revealed that Jan Vertonghen and Paulinho had not traveled to Russia.

We will have the Anzhi team news for you in just a couple of minutes.

ANZHI MAKHACHKALA XI: Pomazan; Angbwa, Adeleye, Ewerton, Tagirbekov; Jucilei, Ahmedov, Solomatin, Razak, Serderov; Abdulavov

As you can see from their starting lineup, Anzhi no longer possess the star names that they had a couple of months ago. The likes of Samuel Eto'o and Willian have departed, leaving the Russian outfit with very few notable players. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that on-loan Manchester City midfielder Abdul Razak starts in midfield.

To coincide with all the departures, Anzhi have also endured a simply awful start on the domestic front. They have failed to win in their opening 11 games.

ANZHI MAKHACHKALA SUBSTITUTES: Kerzhakov, Eschenko, Grigalava, Demidov, Gadzhibekov, Gatagov, Traore

Vadim Demidov and Lacina Traore are the two players that stand out on Anzhi's bench. Demidov was linked with a transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2012 before opting to join Frankfurt, while Traore has an impressive record in front of goal, averaging a goal every two games for the Russian side. He has also netted four times in six matches for the Ivory Coast.

Anzhi are no strangers to English opposition. They came up against both Liverpool and Newcastle United last season in fixtures where they had varying success. During last season's group stages of the Europa League, Anzhi defeated Liverpool 1-0 in Russia, before the Reds replied by edging the return match by the same scoreline. The Russian's went on progress through to a last-16 tie with the Magpies, but the Premier League outfit came through 1-0 on aggregate.

To update you on why Traore is only on the bench this evening, apparently, he has been suffering from a shoulder injury. The 23-year-old is expected to make an appearance during the second half.

Going back to the Tottenham side, despite the changes, they ought to be confident of rolling over the Russians. Fryers aside, their back five is extremely experienced, while Dembele and Sandro should have enough quality in midfield. Further forward, Spurs fans will be hoping for a positive contribution from Erik Lamela, while Defoe is currently on a hot streak in front of goal.

We are less than 15 minutes away from the action getting underway in Russia. How do you see this encounter going?

PREDICTION! While the climate will no doubt give Anzhi a small advantage, their lineup is vastly inferior to that of Spurs, and the English side should have little trouble in picking up their second win of the group. 3-0 to Spurs.

The players will be emerging from the tunnel shortly. For those of you not aware, tonight's match will be taking place at the Saturn Stadium in Moscow, with Anzhi being unable to play at their own ground due to problems within the area.

The two sides are now out in the middle. It's fair to say that it's not the biggest crowd inside the Saturn Stadium, but I guess that's to be expected - this is over 1,000 miles away from Anzhi's home ground.

Spurs get us underway in Russia.

The visitors make an immediate impression on the Anzhi backline, passing the ball around nicely across the edge of the penalty area, before Lamela is dispossessed.

The crowd erupt when they think Solomatin has broken clear of the Tottenham defence, but the assistant's flag is up. The Russian striker can feel hard done by - it looks as though he was onside. An early warning for Spurs.

Excuse the pun, but Spurs have gone a little cold. Anzhi are having plenty of the ball now, but they don't appear to have the necessary quality in the final third. Spurs are going to have to remain professional.

Solomatin breaks clear again - he is finding some success in behind the Spurs defence - but Chiriches manages to get back and hit the ball out for a corner, which comes to nothing.

To give you an idea of how cold it is, the players on the bench have blankets covering their legs. I've never seen that before.

The main threat for Spurs has come through Walker on the right-hand side, and he engineers an opportunity after reaching the byline. However, his cross is well cut out by the defender, who denied Defoe the chance to get a shot away.

SHOT! Spurs manage to retain possession before passing the ball to Defoe, who was waiting 30 yards from goal, but his speculative effort is dragged well wide of the post. Moments later, Sandro has a similar shot, which is saved by the goalkeeper.

It's all very stop-start at the moment. The pitch probably isn't helping matters, but neither side can create anything that could threaten a goal. I hope this improves...

Spurs are in control, but at the same time, there's not enough urgency when they reach the final third. Chadli and Lamela are attempting the more direct approach, but they are being easily snuffed out by Anzhi's defence.

I wish that I could be more positive, but this hasn't been the greatest advert for the Europa League. The pace of the game is like that of a pre-season friendly. A stray pass allows Anzhi to break, but a cross from the left goes straight out for a goal kick.

Serderov does well to nick the ball off Lamela, but after running past Walker, he is crowded out and Spurs regain possession. We are nearly at the half-hour mark, and all we've had are two long-range efforts from Defoe and Sandro.

SHOT! We have a shot! Lewis Holtby, who has probably been Tottenham's best player, lets flies with a left-footed effort from 25 yards but it is well parried away by Yevgeny Pomazan.

Out of nowhere, Spurs have the lead. It's the first time in the whole match that they have managed to get into the Anzhi penalty area. Holtby played a fine ball to the England striker, who controlled the ball before firing the ball into the roof of the net from 12 yards.

That's just what Spurs needed before the break. They have dominated possession without ever looking likely to score, but that goal ought to force Anzhi to try to place more emphasis on attack.

How things have changed. Spurs are playing with much more fluidity, and they double their lead through Chadli. Walker advanced down the right before pulling the ball back for the Belgian to slot the ball across the goalkeeper from 10 yards.

As long as Spurs can hold out until the break, you would have to think that they already have this match in the bag. Anzhi are trying to apply a bit of pressure but the visitors are remaining composed on the ball.

That was weird. The referee blew the whistle seven seconds before we reached the 45-minute mark. Spurs deserve to be ahead, but it's only during those final 10 minutes that they can claim to have played anywhere near their best.

The two goals, scored by Jermain Defoe and Nacer Chadli, were created with that much ease that you wonder why Spurs waited so long to put their foot on the gas. Andre Villas-Boas will be hoping that they can net another soon after the restart so that they can put this fixture to bed.

Spurs had 74% of the possession during that half. That's some stat when you are playing away in Russia.

The players are making their way back out.

Anzhi are making a chance at the start of the second half, bringing on Lacina Traore for Abdulavov.

Anzhi looked fired up at the start of this second half. They make a collective effort to chase the ball down but they can't steal possession.

Holtby is down with what appears to be an ankle injury picked up after a late challenge. The German sounded in some distress, but he is back on his feet, somewhat gingerly.

Angbwa, the right-back for Anzhi, finds himself on the edge of the Spurs penalty area, but he can only drag his shot with of the post. It's all rather forced from the Russians.

SHOT! Lamela, who has looked lively without providing any end product, breaks down the right. He cuts inside to find Chadli, but the Belgian curls his shot just wide of the post. He would have been expecting to have least hit the target.

SUBSTITUTION! Anzhi make their second change of the evening, replacing Serderov with Eschenko. Straight after the restart, the Russians break forward and Lloris has to be alert to intervene when a cross is driven across the box.

EFFORT! The home side have been far more threatening since the second half began. Solomatin gets on the ball on the right of the penalty area before drilling a stunning effort that forces Lloris to tip the ball over the crossbar.

I wouldn't be surprised if Villas-Boas is considering a change, because his side have been second best for the past 10 minutes. Anzhi are beginning to build up a head of steam and it only takes one goal to change the momentum of this match.

The pitch is becoming somewhat of a mess in places, and it's not helping either side when they attempt to pass the ball. Anzhi are beginning to go a bit more direct to find Traore, but Chiriches is getting the better of the Ivorian.

What on earth is Solomatin doing there? He does superbly to turn inside Kaboul, but for a reason only known to him, he thrown himself to the ground trying to win a penalty. He was in the perfect position to curl the ball into the far corner.

SUBSTITUTION! Kaboul pulled up injured during that incident with Solmatin, and he will be replaced by Michael Dawson. Gylfi Sigurdsson has also been introduced into the action.

I thought this evening might have been a good opportunity for Villas-Boas to try to get a much-needed goal for Roberto Soldado, but it doesn't look like he is going to make an appearance. Anzhi have lost that zip that they had earlier in the half, and I can see this match petering out.

SUBSTITUTION! Tottenham make their last substitution and it's Christian Eriksen who is going to enter the fray. He has replaced Lewis Holtby.

Remarkably, this is probably going to be Tottenham's toughest fixture of the group. That should mean that Spurs are a certainty to finish as group winners and earn a favourable tie in the knockout stages.

The only shot of note over the past 10 minutes has been from Defoe, but even that effort was never troubling the goal. Just as I write that, Solomartin unleashes a fine volley from 20 yards that forces Lloris into a smart stop.

It's simply a case of playing keep-ball for Spurs now as they look to run down the clock. Anzhi have almost given up in chasing them down.

There will be three minutes of added-on time.

Could that have been any more easier for Spurs? Perhaps if they had scored another, yes, but they have cantered their way past an extremely disappointing Anzhi side. That will be all from this match, but please join me in 30 minutes when I will be bringing you coverage of Swansea City's match with St Gallen. Goodbye for now.