Tottenham Hotspur's Andre Villas-Boas: 'Stoke City will be hard to beat'

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas believes that this weekend's Premier League encounter against Stoke City will be "extremely difficult".

The North London outfit have conceded 10 goals in the last 15 minutes of games this season and Villas-Boas believes that the Potters' strong defence will be tough to break down.

"It's an extremely difficult game," the club's official Twitter page quotes Villas-Boas as saying. "Stoke have one of the best defences in the league.

"They are a very competitive team. It's not going to be an easy game for us but the boys are fresh and will be ready."

Spurs sit fourth in the league table as the hectic festive schedule approaches.