Goals from Fernando Llorente and Dele Alli earned Tottenham Hotspur a 2-0 win over Swansea City at a wet and windy Liberty Stadium this evening.
Harry Kane was left on the bench in Wales and his replacement Llorente scored his first Premier League goal for Spurs on 12 minutes with a header from Christian Eriksen's cross.
However, the Spaniard got away with being several yards offside, and Spurs got the benefit of another big decision when defender Davinson Sanchez avoided a second yellow card before the hour mark.
Jordan Ayew came close and Mike van der Hoorn hit the woodwork for Swansea within the space of 60 seconds, but Spurs secured the points when substitute Kane supplied Dele Alli with an 89th-minute second.
Relive how the action unfolded with our minute-by-minute updates below.
Good evening ladies and gents! The Christmas football feast continues tonight as Tottenham Hotspur and record-breaking striker Harry Kane travel to Swansea City, who are under new management in Carlos Carvalhal. Team news coming up...
SWANSEA: Fabianski; Rangel, Van der Hoorn, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson; Clucas, Carroll, Sanches; Dyer, Ayew
Subs: Nordfeldt, Bartley, Roque Mesa, Fer, Routledge, Narsingh, McBurnie
Subs: Nordfeldt, Bartley, Roque Mesa, Fer, Routledge, Narsingh, McBurnie
TOTTENHAM: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Eriksen; Lamela, Alli, Son; Llorente
Subs: Vorm, Aurier, Walker-Peters, Winks, Wanyama, Sissoko, Kane
Subs: Vorm, Aurier, Walker-Peters, Winks, Wanyama, Sissoko, Kane
The major team news comes from the Spurs camp as Harry Kane is left on the bench after a holiday illness. That will be a huge relief for Swansea, although they will know just how dangerous his replacement can be as their former striker Fernando Llorente makes his first league start for Tottenham.
Alongside Kane among the Spurs substitutes is Victor Wanyama, who is back in the Tottenham squad for the first time since August. The Kenyan midfielder has recently recovered from a knee injury and his return will be a huge boost to Mauricio Pochettino considering the key role he played last term.
Including Llorente in for Kane, Spurs make four changes from the Boxing Day victory over Southampton. Ben Davies, Kieran Trippier and Erik Lamela are in for Serge Aurier, Mousa Dembele and Danny Rose, whose absence from the squad is sure to get people talking now the transfer window is open.
To compensate for a lack of Kane in the lineup, Pochettino has named four attacking midfielders and a striker in his starting XI. Either Christian Eriksen or Dele Alli will drop into a deeper midfield role alongside Eric Dier in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Son Heung-min and Lamela on the wings.
Mousa Dembele, who limped off 55 minutes into the win over the Saints, and Toby Alderweireld are fitness absentees for the visitors. Dembele has today been linked with a move to AC Milan, and Tottenham might be tempted to sell the Belgian as injuries have started to catch up with him.
Over to Swansea, who make three changes from the side that scored twice in the final four minutes to beat Watford last time out. Former Tottenham defender Kyle Naughton is suspended, so there is a first league start of the season for 35-year-old Angel Rangel in a 5-4-1 formation.
Mike van der Hoorn comes into the three-man defence with Roque Mesa sacrificed from midfield. On-loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham is out with a stomach problem - and Wilfried Bony with a hamstring strain - so Nathan Dyer is recalled to support lone frontman Jordan Ayew in attack.
Despite scoring the stoppage-time winner at Vicarage Road - his first league goal on his 25th appearance for Swansea - Luciano Narsingh has to settle for a place on the home bench. Another potential goal threat - Leroy Fer - is left among the reserves as ex-Spurs midfielder Tom Carroll starts.
Carvalhal persists with Bayern Munich wonderkid Renato Sanches, who has been one of the most disappointing signings of the season. There has been talk of the 20-year-old returning to Germany but he has immediately been made central figure by Carvalhal so seems poised to stay.
This lineup is set out to frustrate Spurs in a very similar manner to the way that Swansea did in September's 0-0 draw at Wembley, but it leaves a lot of pressure on Ayew as the lone goal threat. The Ghana striker has five for the season - two in his last three games - and has an eye for the spectacular.
The Spurs boys looked in a relaxing mood on their way to Wales. Lamela was caught out having a little nap while Eriksen was having a gossip about Manchester United naughty boy Jesse Lingard!
There will be some very happy defenders in that Swansea dressing room having seen Kane's name on Tottenham's substitutes' bench. If you will indulge me for a second, let me remind you of the record-breaking form that the England international displayed throughout 2017...
1) Kane set a new Premier League record for goals in a calendar year with 39, surpassing a 22-year record previously held by Alan Shearer.
2) The 24-year-old outscored Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to finish 2017 as the top scorer in Europe with 55 goals for club and country.
3) The Spurs academy graduate soared up the club's all-time Premier League scoring charts and is now just one short of Teddy Sheringham's tally of 97.
In his place, Pochettino puts his trust in Llorente for the first time. In the previous league games that Kane has missed this season, the Spaniard has remained on the bench while Son played as a makeshift striker. A return to his old stomping ground has been enough to get Llorente the nod tonight.
The 32-year-old scored 15 goals in 35 league matches in his only season at Swansea, and their failure to replace him is one of the reasons why they are rooted to the bottom of the table. Llorente will be champing at the bit, having only played seven minutes since opening his Spurs account on December 6.
Getting the right sort of supply to Llorente will be key tonight, and that is probably one of the reasons why Trippier is given the nod at right-back this evening, leaving Aurier in reserve for the London derby with West Ham on Thursday. The Ivorian was sent off in the reverse fixture.
As well as Trippier, Spurs possess fantastic dead-ball delivery from Eriksen who has an outstanding record against Swansea. The Dane has scored six goals and provided four assists in eight league games against Swansea - four of those goals came in his last three appearances at Liberty Stadium.
After a three-game winless run at the end of November and into December, Tottenham have won four of their last five league games and scored 16 goals during that period. Pochettino's side are looking to record three successive top-flight matches for the first time since October.
Tottenham's victory at Burnley was their first in five away matches. Meanwhile, Swansea have the division's worst home record, registering only eight points and six goals in 10 games at the Liberty.
A lot of Fantasy Football managers will have their heads in their hands this evening...
Less than 15 minutes until kickoff in Wales, where Tottenham have an excellent Premier League record. Spurs have won on four of six trips to Wales since the Swans returned to the top flight.
Carlos Carvalhal was discussing Swansea's chances of survival earlier this week and, despite the morale-boosting win over Watford, has admitted that the odds are still stacked against his side.
He told reporters: "Before the [Watford] game if you asked 100 people if Swansea will be relegated, 100 people would say Swansea will be relegated. Now 98 people will be saying it, and maybe two people are saying maybe they will not. But it is still a small percentage, we are still not in a good position."
STATS: Here is a quick summary of why Carvalhal has been brought in, so suddenly afrer his sacking by Championship underachievers Sheffield Wednesday. Swansea have won only two and lost nine of their last 13 league matches, and have failed to score in 11 of their 21 league games.
Those statistics indicate that a striker will be Swansea's priority in the January window, although with Bony, Abraham and Ayew, they do boast a goal threat within the squad. What they may be lacking is midfield creativity. With Sanches struggling, their central area looks very unpenetrative indeed.
HEAD TO HEAD: Tottenham are on a 14-match unbeaten run against Swansea in all competitions, winning 11 of them. Swansea's last league win against Tottenham was 2-0 at home in October 1982.
PREDICTION: Carvalhal should bring some enthusiasm to this Swansea side and they will be buoyed by Saturday's result, but their side looks badly devoid of goals. Even without Kane, a well-rested Tottenham will have enough to overcome their hosts by a couple of goals - 2-0.
There are three other Premier League games tonight, with league leaders Manchester City hosting Watford, West Bromwich Albion facing West Ham United in a basement battle and Southampton entertaining Crystal Palace. You can follow those games in our live scores section.
KICKOFF: The action is underway in a wet Wales, with Spurs in their changed blue strip.
Eriksen is the one who is operating alongside Dier, with Alli in his regular No.10 position. I feel as though the 21-year-old Englishman may end up in central midfield as he gets older but is having to play further forward because of striker-short Tottenham's reliance on him to score goals.
The game has settled into an expected pattern, with Tottenham having much of the early possession but Swansea packing men behind the ball. Twice the visitors have got the ball and booted it forward in hope so the service to Ayew must improve otherwise it will be a long night.
Tottenham will need to get frequent crosses into the box tonight to give Llorente something to feed off. Son gets the first decent delivery into the area, and it is actually Lamela who attacks it from deep but it is just out of his reach.
YELLOW: More of the same in terms of Spurs possession versus Swansea organisation. Trippier is caught by Olsson as he attempted to drift in from the right and Bobby Madley takes his time before showing a yellow card to the Swede. In this rainy and blustery conditions, he could have let that go...
Son Heung-min has been the livliest Tottenham player in the opening moments of this game, winning them a free kick by skipping past Tom Carroll. The South Korean has five goals in his last seven matches.
GOAL! SWANSEA 0-1 TOTTENHAM (FERNANDO LLORENTE)
Harry who? Spurs lead and wouldn't you just know it, former Swansea striker Llorente is the goalscorer. It is a trademark header, climbing over Federico Fernandez at the near post to power Eriksen's set piece home. The Spaniard cuts short his celebration but, regardless of the mark of respect, the Swans management and fans will be furious because Llorente was a yard or two offside.
That is Llorente's first Premier League goal for Spurs, on his 12th appearance although almost all of them have been in late cameos. Did you know he has more league goals in 2018 than Harry Kane?!
This soaked surface at the Liberty lends itself wonderfully to slide tackles, and there is no more willing and yet poor exponent of them than Lamela, who slides through the back of Clucas but gets away with just a warning.
Swansea will be aggreived with the goal but cannot argue that it has been complete Tottenham dominance. The visitors have enjoyed 75% of possession so far and Carvalhal's boys seem to have no method of keeping the ball.
SHOT! Eriksen fizzes the ball into the feet of Llorente, whose first-time layoff tees up Alli nicely for a shot which the 21-year-old midfielder drags wide on the half-volley.
Lamela squeezes a through-ball in between the Swansea defence but this time the offside flag is raised against Llorente - incorrectly I may add. It cannot be easy for the linesman in these misty conditions but it has not been a good start to the game for Mr Perry the assistant referee.
Midway through this half and Swansea have still not strung more than a couple of passes together in the Spurs half. Dyer is playing right up next to Ayew through the centre, but Sanchez and Vertonghen are in complete control and the ball just keeps coming back at the Swans defence.
Van der Hoorn makes an important interception to prevent Eriksen's ball making it through to Son. Swansea had just advanced into the Spurs half only for Rangel to be crowded out on the right wing.
Swansea just had their best opening of the game so far but a short-of-confidence Sanches dwelling on the ball in the middle of the park slowed the play down and allowed Spurs to recover.
Tottenham are committing seven or eight players forward with every attack but the conditions and deep Swansea backline are making it hard to find a way through. Alli dinks a ball over the top which is just in front of Llorente on the stretch.
The rain has pounded down so much that the ball is now slowing up in the puddles. These conditions can cause chaos and a short pass from Trippier requires drastic action from Sanchez as he dives into a 50-50 with Ayew.
YELLOW: Sanchez is very harshly booked for a tangle with Ayew off the ball. Sanches takes charge of the free kick on the edge of the box and curls it a couple of yards over the crossbar. That is the closest the Swans have come so far - their only attempt on goal in fairness.
The crowd have been lifted by the signs that the pitch is starting to even the playing field. Swansea move the ball nicely to the right but Rangel's cross is over the head of Dyer and cleared by Sanchez.
The last five minutes have been better from Swansea but Spurs have wrestled back control of possession. The centre of the pitch has taken a battering by the rain, and it wouldn't be completely out of the question that the officials take a look at the surface come half time.
Davies drives into the area from the left and finds a cute pass to Alli, who tries to flick the ball beyon Fernandez and run onto it, but Mawson comes across to make a clearance.
SHOT! A slip from Son allows Rangel to get a cross in, and it rolls through to Olsson at the back post. He has time to line a shot up but slices it wide of Lloris's near post.
CHANCE! The Eriksen-Llorente combination nearly pays dividends for Spurs again but the Spaniard opts to go with a stretched boot rather than a header and cannot control an effort which flies over the crossbar.
Sanches wins Swansea a corner with persistent and skilful play on the right and Carroll's delivery into the box forces Lloris into a couple of decent punches, the first one being from Mawson's header.
There will be one minute of added time before the players can take shelter in the dressing rooms. Swansea, with the help of the conditions, have made this match more of a contest in the last 15 minutes.
HALF TIME: SWANSEA 0-1 TOTTENHAM
Tottenham lead at half time at the Liberty, with Swansea's plan to frustrate their opponents undone by a poor decision from the assistant referee, who failed to rule out a goal from their former striker Fernando Llorente for a blatant offside.
The early dominance displayed by Spurs subsided slightly as the half went on as Swansea, with the help of an increasingly-damp playing surface, started to get a foothold in the game, without remotely posing a goalscoring threat.
It has been another difficult 45 minutes in English football for Renato Sanches. The 20-year-old will not be too accustom with these stormy conditions and has struggled to cope both with and without the ball.
Something that Swansea can cling on to is that they were 1-0 down against Watford last time out and kept going until the end to claim a dramatic victory. Could we see match-winner Luciano Narsingh in the second half?
LATEST: Manchester City wasted little time getting back in the winning groove, with Raheem Sterling scoring inside 39 seconds to help them into a 2-0 lead over Watford. Elsewhere, West Brom and Southampton lead West Ham and Crystal Palace respectively by 1-0 scorelines, with Shane Long ending a 28-game goal drought!
Remember, a victory tonight will take Spurs above Arsenal into fifth. Pochettino will want a second goal though as anything can happen in these conditions. It only takes one slip from a defender...
KICKOFF: Spurs resume the action with both sides unchanged. The rain is still falling but is not as heavy as it has been, which means we should have no problems finishing this match.
SHOT! After good work from Sanches on the edge of his own box, Carroll releases Dyer down the left. The veteran winger cuts inside and shoots weakly past Lloris's far post.
Son tries a similar effort coming in off the Spurs right, but skies an ugly left-footed shot high and wide.
Alli charges with the ball towards the edge of the area but is forced wide by Clucas and Sanches and his eventualy shot is deflected over the crossbar.
SUBSTITUTION: An injury to Rangel, who has looked every day a 35-year-old veteran under the heavy footing tonight, brings forward Narsingh's introdction, which could result in a change of shape which will make the Swans more of an attacking threat.
A nervy moment for Spurs as Sanchez survives a second yellow card for hacking down Ayew while trying to play the ball out of defence. Bobby Madley has a long word with the Colombian, who was sent off for two bookings against Watford, before issuing him with his final warning. As a standlone offence it is a yellow card every time, but Madley may have shown leniency based on the softness of the first yellow.
Swansea have started this second half on the front foot and Tottenham need to muster a reponse here. The hosts don't look a goalscoring threat yet but Spurs won't want to be hit with a late sucker-punch.
SUBSTITUTION: Pochettino isn't taking any chances with Sanchez and has taken him off, bringing on Victor Wanyama for a welcome return after four months out and shifting Dier to centre-back.
Van der Hoorn, who has switched over to right-back, is dispossessed by Lamela in the middle of his own half and is forced to bring the Argentine down from behind. Again referee Madley keeps his cards in his pocket.
SAVE! From the resultant free kick, Eriksen bends one around the wall and forces Fabianski into a strong punch away. The Dane scored two free kicks at the Liberty a couple of seasons ago, but the goalkeeper was equal to him threre.
Eriksen whips in a free kick very similar to the one from which Kane scored against Southampton, at pace across the six-yard box from a tight angle, and Fabianski has to punch clear before Alli can pounce.
YELLOW: Lamela catches Carroll on the follow through and this time Madley does brandish yellow.
SAVE! Finally Swansea have a clear-cut chance as Narsingh goes free down the right. He stays fairly wide rather than cut in on goal and Lloris blocks a powerful shot firmly at his near post.
SUBSTITUTION: Pochettino isn't taking any chances here and calls on Kane to kill the game off. Llorente makes way, with his first league goal for Spurs, albeit well offside, the difference as it stands.
Alli makes a trademark run through the middle from deep and Dier finds him with a superb long pass. The midfielder cannot angle his header on target and rightly complains of a push from Van der Hoorn.
CHANCE! Best chance of the game for Swansea as Ayew breaks the line - another incorrect call from the linesman - and skips around Vertonghen and around Lloris, only for Dier to block his 10-yard poke and Wanyama to eventually clear. The striker had a couple of chances to go to ground and probably win a penalty, but stayed on his feet and yet couldn't get a clear shot away.
WOODWORK! Carroll's corner is headed against the frame of the goal by Van der Hoorn. The Dutchman didn't know much about it, but Lloris was beaten if not for the woodwork.
SUBSTITUTION: Second change from the hosts as young striker Oliver McBurnie replaces Nathan Dyer.
Kane gets his first touch as Eriksen knocks a ball to the right byline, and the striker wins a corner off Fernandez.
SUBSTITUTION: Third and final change for the visitors as Moussa Sissoko replaces Erik Lamela, who gets another valuable 77 minutes under his belt but is sacrificed for a greater midfield presence.
CLOSE! Son is unmarked at the back post and Trippier finds him with a perfectly-weighted cross that the South Korean meets on the volley, steering the ball inches wide of Fabianski's goal.
Alli shifts the ball onto Son, who bursts into the area but a heavy touch takes the ball behind. Spurs have not closed this game out yet and there is still time for Swansea to provide late drama again.
Spurs have a chance to wrap things up but Alli's cutback is too light and behind Kane, allowing Mawson to make a crucial interception.
A Sanches corner is cleared to the edge of the box, where Olsson meets it with a wild shot which goes off target.
Narsingh nutmegs Davies and darts to the byline, only for the Welshman to recover and make a good tackle to limit the danger to a corner.
Son wants a penalty but clearly threw himself to ground under the challenge of Fernandez.
GOAL! SWANSEA 0-2 TOTTENHAM (DELE ALLI)
Spurs remove any doubt from this result with a late second through Alli. It is a brilliant, Kevin de Bruyne-esque pass from Kane to send his teammate through on goal and, after Fabianski saves his initial effort, Alli adjusts his feet remarkably quickly to sneak the rebound under the crossbar.
Swansea have a corner but Lloris is off his line to claim and take the pressure off his defence.
FULL TIME: SWANSEA 0-2 TOTTENHAM
The weather and an improved second-half display made that trickier for Spurs than it once appeared it would be, but Mauricio Pochettino's men take all three points from the Liberty to climb above Arsenal into fifth and leave their hosts, who will blame some unjust officiating, bottom of the table.
That is it from a wet, wet Wales this evening. Stay tuned to Sports Mole for our match report and reaction from the Liberty, as well as all the fallout from tonight's other Premier League action, where Man City have marched on and Palace and West Ham have picked up massive wins. Thanks for joining us!
