Live Commentary: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Reading - as it happened

Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Reading to North London on New Year's Day.

Spurs had won seven of their last nine matches in all competitions. However, they were without star winger Gareth Bale, who was serving a one-match suspension.

Andre Villas-Boas's men began the game knowing that a win would see them climb above Chelsea to third in the Premier League table.

Meanwhile, the Royals, who began 2013 in 19th position, would remain in the relegation zone regardless of the result.

5.08pmThat concludes today's coverage from White Hart Lane. Happy 2013 everyone.

5.07pmThe final game of the day sees Arsenal take on Southampton at St Mary's. Sports Mole will be providing live updates on that one, which you can follow by clicking here.

5.05pmWest Brom 1-2 Fulham, Man City 3-0 Stoke, Swansea 2-2 Aston Villa, West Ham 2-1 Norwich, Wigan 0-4 Man Utd

5.04pmHere are the final scores from elsewhere in the Premier League today...

5pmClick here to view Subhankar Mondal's match report.

4.57pmSpurs record their eighth win in 10 games and regain third place. Reading, meanwhile, remain five points from safety and without an away win in the league this season.

4.53pmFull time: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Reading

90minCHANCE! Walker waltzes through the Reading defence and pulls the ball back from the byeline, but the visitors desperately hack clear.

90minCHANCE! Lennon goes on a mesmerising run before finding Dempsey on the left side of the penalty area. The American shoots again, but this time the deflection is not so kind to him and the ball flies wide.

89minThe corner is cleared as far as Naughton, who shoots straight at Federici from outside the area.

88minSAVE: Parker fires towards the top corner from 25 yards, but Federici pulls off the save of the day to tip wide.

87minSPURS SUB: Jake Livermore replaces Adebayor, who receives a warm round of applause.

84minREADING SUB: Noel Hunt replaces Pogrebnyak.

83minParker is urged to shoot from long range. He does and his shot deflects just wide. The corner comes to nothing.

82minThe points belong to Spurs and both teams know it. The hosts are zipping the ball about beautifully and their fans are loving it.

79minSpurs get the crucial fourth goal, as Dempsey's long range effort loops in via a heavy deflection. That is the first time that the American has scored for Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

79minGOAL! Spurs (Clint Dempsey) 3-1 Reading.

77minCHANCE! Alex Pearce gets an attempt on target, but Dawson clears off the line and the ball goes behind for another corner.

76minCHANCE! Spurs have Walker to thank for keeping them ahead, as the full-back denies Jimmy Kebe with a fantastic last-ditch slide. Corner to Reading.

74minSPURS SUB: Clint Dempsey replaces Sigurdsson.

73minREADING SUB: Adam Le Fondre replaces Jobi McAnuff.

71minCHANCE! After barely venturing into the Spurs half for the past 30 minutes, Reading come very close to finding an equaliser. Pogrebnyak capitalises on an error to get in down the left. His initial shot is parried by Hugo Lloris, but the rebound falls straight to the Russian, who heads wide.

70minAlthough both of their goals so far today have come from close range, Spurs scored more goals from outside the penalty area than any other Premier League team last season.

70minNaughton flashes wide from 25 yards.

69minSPURS SUB: Scott Parker continues his rehabilitation following Achilles surgery, as he replaces Dembele for the final 21 minutes of this match.

67minCHANCE! Once again, Lennon whizzes past Harte down the right. He then finds Defoe, who shoots wide from eight yards.

64minMariappa heads clear as far as Naughton on the halfway line. The former Norwich City loanee plays a poor pass and the momentum of the Spurs move ends.

63minSpurs flood forward in numbers. The ball is played to Walker on the overlap and the England right-back wins a corner.

60minNaughton cuts inside from the left and shoots from 25 yards. His effort is deflected and well held by Federici.

57minREADING SUB: Hal Robson-Kanu replaces Karacan.

57minReading clear the corner and survive for now. However, I can't help but feel that a third for Spurs is inevitable.

56minCHANCE! Lennon bursts forward for Spurs. His initial shot from 12 yards is blocked and falls to Adebayor, who plays the ball back to Lennon. This time, the England winger has a go with his left foot and his shot deflects wide for a corner.

55minTalking of Sandro, the Brazilian looks determined to get on the scoresheet himself today. However, he will have to do better than this effort, which skids wide from 30 yards.

53minSpurs are playing very well right now. Perhaps Sandro's prediction could come true after all... maybe not though.

50minSpurs have a deserved lead and Adebayor, with a powerful header, has his second goal of the season. Most of the plaudits, however, should go to Lennon, who assisted the goal with a brilliant cross to the far post.

50minGOAL! Spurs 2-1 Reading (Emmanuel Adebayor)

47minSAVE! Defoe bends at goal from 18 yards and is thwarted by a super save from Federici, who does very well to hold on.

46minSpurs begin the second half exactly how they ended the first - on the attack. Lennon gets away down the right, but his cross just evades Adebayor.

46minThe second half is underway here in North London.

3.58pmReading have committed six of the game's 11 fouls, however no bookings have yet been issued.

3.57pmThe game has seen three corners so far - all for the home side.

3.56pmMeanwhile, Reading have recorded two shots on goal. The first hit the crossbar and the second, seconds later, found the net.

3.55pmSpurs have dominated possession with 71% and registered 11 shots at goal, four on target.

3.54pmLet's have a look at the stats of the match so far...

3.53pmClick here to view our half-time report on events at White Hart Lane.

3.52pmMan City 1-0 Stoke, Swansea 1-1 Aston Villa, West Ham 2-0 Norwich, Wigan 0-2 Man Utd

3.51pmHere are the other scores in the Premier League, after 45 minutes of play...

3.48pmHALF-TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Reading

44minSAVE! Spurs are piling on the pressure late in the first half. Sandro's shot from 25 yards hits Sigurdsson and forces Federici into an excellent parry.

42minSAVE! Moments after making his first save, Federici is forced into another. The Australian palms away Dembele's powerful long-range strike and then dives upon the rebound to deny Adebayor a simple tap-in .

41minSAVE! A good passage of play between Sigurdsson and Defoe ends with the latter shooting low with his left foot from 18 yards. Federici does well to hold the effort, which was sneaking inside his near post.

38minCLOSE! Defoe teases Leigertwood before fizzing in a shot from 20 yards, which shaves the outside of the post on its way wide.

36minSigurdsson's delivery from the set piece is good, but so is Federici's punch. Reading clear.

35minGunter slides in late on Defoe and Spurs have a free kick on the left touchline, 35 yards from goal.

34minSandro shoots high and wide from 25 yards. Although Spurs have dominated the game, they will be disappointed that they have only registered one effort on target thus far.

33minDefoe shows excellent control on the edge of the box, before firing at goal from 18 yards. His shot takes a defection and Federici does very well to prevent the corner.

31minSigurdsson plays a cute through ball into the path of Defoe, but Adrian Mariappa gets back to deny Spurs' top goalscorer a shot on goal with an important last-ditch challenge.

28minThe Royals' passing game has deserted them and they have resorted to pumping the ball long on numerous occasions. Credit to Spurs, who are pressing their opponents high up the pitch.

25minReading clear the initial delivery, but Spurs regain possession on the halfway line and cleverly work the ball to Sigurdsson, who is tackled on the edge of the area by a superb sliding challenge from Mikele Leigertwood.

24minLennon has Harte on toast right now. Spurs win a third corner.

22minMoussa Dembele holds off a strong challenge from Jem Karacan and then fires just wide from 20 yards.

20minDawson gets Vaselined up, puts on new shirt and the game restarts with Adam Federici's booming goal kick.

17minThe physio is on the pitch attending to Dawson, who has bloodied his nose in a clash of heads with Pogrebnyak. The Russian came away unscathed.

15minDawson's equaliser has settled Spurs down and the hosts are well on top right now.

13minThe delivery is poor this time around and Pogrebnyak heads clear.

12minSigurdsson tries his luck from long-range and his powerful effort deflects wide for another corner kick.

10minSigurdsson whips in the corner from the left and Dawson stoops at the near post to head home his first goal at White Hart Lane in four years.

10minGOAL! Spurs 1-1 Reading (Michael Dawson)

9minLennon is getting a lot of joy down the right. The speedy winger whips in another cross, winning a corner for his side.

7minCHANCE! Spurs should be level. Aaron Lennon gets away from Harte down the right and stands up a deep cross to Emmanuel Adebayor, but the Togo forward heads wide of the post.

5minWhite Hart Lane is stunned and has fallen silent after that goal.

4minIan Harte takes the free kick, which smacks against the underside of the crossbar before falling into the path of the big Russian, who heads home from close range.

4minGOAL! Spurs 0-1 Reading (Pogrebnyak)

2minReading have started brightly and earned a free kick in a dangerous position, just on the edge of the D in a central position. Kyle Naughton was penalised for a foul on Pavel Pogrebnyak.

0minThe game is underway. As expected, Spurs line up in a 4-4-2 formation, while Reading are playing 4-5-1.

2.56pmThe players are on the pitch.

2.55pmMcDermott: "Bale is a top player but they're not a one-man team. I really like Andre, he's a friend and he is doing a great job. They have Gylfi who we had since 14, top lad and top player. "

2.54pmRoyals boss Brian McDermott has insisted that Sigurdsson, who played two first-team seasons for Reading between 2008 and 2010, is a more than able replacement for Bale.

2.49pmNineteen goals have been scored in the previous three league games between these sides at White Hart Lane.

2.47pmReading, meanwhile, have scored 1.1 per game and conceded an average of 1.85.

2.45pmSpurs have scored an average of 1.9 goals per league game this season, conceding 1.3 per match.

2.41pmThat scoreline means that Spurs can open up a six-point gap between themselves and the Baggies by beating Reading today.

2.40pmRESULT: The final whistle has blown at The Hawthorns, where Fulham have beaten West Bromwich Albion 2-1.

2.39pmMeanwhile, Adam le Fondre, who has found the net five times in 13 top-flight appearances, leads the charts for Reading.

2.37pmDefoe is Spurs' top goalscorer with 10 goals in 20 Premier League games this season.

2.35pmSpurs ran out as 3-1 winners on that occasion, with Jermain Defoe scoring two goals and picking up the game's only yellow card.

2.33pmWebb also took charge when these sides met at the Madejski Stadium in September.

2.31pmHoward Webb will referee this one. The Yorkshireman has showed 57 yellow cards and two reds in 15 matches this season.

2.28pmREADING SUBS: Taylor, Cummings, Morrison, Tabb, Robson-Kanu, Hunt, Le Fondre

2.26pmSPURS SUBS: Friedel, Caulker, Livermore, Falque, Huddlestone, Parker, Dempsey

2.22pmGylfi Sigurdsson makes his first Premier League start in 13 matches in place of Bale, while Jan Vertonghen replaces Steven Caulker to partner captain Michael Dawson in defence.

2.20pmThe Royals are unchanged following their 1-0 win over West Ham United, while Spurs make two changes from the side that beat Sunderland 2-1.

2.17pmREADING XI: Federici, Gunter, Harte, Mariappa, Pearce, Karacan, Leigertwood, Kebe, McAnuff, Guthrie, Pogrebnyak

2.16pmSPURS XI: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton, Sandro, Dembele, Lennon, Sigurdsson, Adebayor, Defoe

2.15pmThe teams are in...

2.15pmTwo Spurs midfielders have given out contrasting messages in the build-up to today's match. Moussa Dembele has insisted that beating Reading won't be easy, while Sandro has claimed that Tottenham are capable of winning the Premier League title this season.

2.09pmSpurs have done well against the Royals in recent years - winning five, drawing one and losing none since 2006.

2.07pmIn contrast, Reading have not kicked off a New Year with three points since 2007.

2.04pmTottenham have begun each of the past four years with a home fixture, winning all four.

2.02pmHappy New Year and welcome to a surprisingly sunny White Hart Lane, where Spurs have won five and drawn one of their last six home games.