Tottenham’s weekend victory came in debatable circumstances, as referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty against Ahmed Elmohamady for a handball. The decision appeared a harsh one, with the Egyptian seemingly unintentionally using his arm to block Jan Vertonghen’s cross.

Spain international Roberto Soldado duly converted the spot kick as Spurs secured back-to-back top-flight victories, much to the chagrin of Bruce.u00a0The fixture with Hull is the hosts’ third in the space of just seven days, meaning Villas-Boas could rotate his squad with the likes of Erik Lamela coming into contention.

The former Roma midfielder has yet to start a Premier League game for the club, and Villas-Boas admits he is looking for the 21-year-old to stake his claim for a starting spot.

“With Erik it was a little bit more difficult but we have given him massive, massive help and his family arrived this week,” he said.u00a0“He knows he isn’t producing half of what he can produce but he understands that he has to compete for his place.”

The game is likely to come too soon for Etienne Capoue, despite his return to training from an ankle injury, while Danny Rose is out with a similar problem, but Andros Townsend is not expected to be sidelined after he fell into a photographer’s pit on Sunday, injuring his wrist in the process.

Hull’s injury woes
Hull, meanwhile, have been in good form upon their return to the top flight, with Bruce’s side taking 11 points from nine games, and moving to 10th spot in EPL.u00a0But Hull head into the match with an extensive injury list that includes ’keeper Allan McGregor (thigh), defenders James Chester (hamstring) and Abdoulaye Faye (knock) and forwards Sone Aluko (calf) and Danny Graham (hamstring).