40 mins: What a failure! Another attack down the left allows Jafarguliyev to put the ball on a plate for Juninho to shoot, but he botches the finish and sends a terrible shot wide.

38 minutes: Qarabag appears to feel Gray is a weak spot at right-back with Spurs targeting him thanks to the extra man. A hard day's work for the teenager, who is a midfielder by profession.

36 mins: Qarabag hurls the ball across the penalty area and Juninho is ready to pounce, but Vicario sees the danger and jumps to bat away the cross before the Brazilian can strike.

34 mins: Poor Bergvall is shown on the bench. He has his coat pulled up over his face and looks miserable. We've all been there, buddy.

32 mins: The 700 Qarabag fans got lots of Azerbaijan flags. They do their best to make some noise.

30 minutes: Benzia tries to block a cross in the penalty area, but the ball is ripped off his foot before he can shoot. There are plenty of threats in this Qarabag team.

28 mins: What does the goalkeeper do? Kochalski shoots the ball out of the box for a long pass over the top, but Johnson gets there first, goes past the goalkeeper and shoots, only to see his shot go wide.

26 mins: Spurs still have most of the ball but are unable to create a second chance.

24 mins: Gray limps a bit after the foul. I'm not sure Postecoglou is keen on a second change at this early stage.

22 mins: Qarabag managed five against three, but Spurs managed one or two final challenges to stop them and win the ball back. This could be a fun evening.

Gray is eliminated on the right wing. The advantage continues until Jafarguliyev receives a yellow card for the foul.

krishnamoorthy says: “Your mention of Johnson Solanke and Son sounds like a law firm that seems to be able to put the names in lower case on their shirts.”

20 minutes: Bayramov is played on goal and looks ready to shoot the ball past Vicario, but Udogie comes back, goes shoulder to shoulder and fends off the Qarabag man, who stumbles in the box.

18 mins: Johnson, Solanke and Son put a lot of pressure on the Qarabag defense. No chance for them to rest.

16 mins: Sorry, Udogie has moved to the left defense position with Davies alongside Van de Ven.

15 mins: Martin Gamage says: “Yes, that was really a mindless defense against Dragusin. If you make a mistake in defense at the start of the game, release the striker and see if the goalkeeper can handle him. There’s no point in spending 80 minutes with ten men.”

14 mins: It will still be a long night for the Spurs players as they are quite unmanned. Udogie has settled in as a central defender. The Spurs are now 4-4-1, the wingers remain high.

GOAL! Spurs win the ball back high up, Solanke passes to Johnson, who hits the bottom corner.

GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Qarabag (Johnson, 12)

12 minutes: Will Qarabag be more proactive in his attacking game or accept that there is more room to exploit on the counterattack? They definitely put a lot of effort into pressing.

Udogie replaces Bergvall. Such a shame for the teenager, but it has to be done. Stupid Dragusin.

10 minutes: Udogie is already being prepared for his mission. Sacrifice gray?

RED CARD! Dragusin

6 minutes: Qarabag will primarily play on the counterattack. Juninho doesn't appear to be afraid to take on Spurs' back four when the opportunity arises.

4 minutes: Spurs dominate possession and Qarabag has all 11 men in his own defensive third. This could be a long night trying to find a chance for Spurs.

2 minutes: Spurs have lowercase letters for the names on their jerseys. I think this should be banned.

Not much has happened in terms of football.

Start

Nobody needs the Europa League anthem at this point. Please just start the game.

The players are finally on the pitch. I cry for joy.

The referee ordered the Qarabag captain to sort his socks. This will delay kick-off even further. Come on now, boys. The players are still in the tunnel.

They turned off the lights in Tottenham. After the delay I now fear the lights will burn out.

We're getting a little closer to kick-off. Did the delay build tension? Not really.

Taha Hashim can write about real football.

The teams are out warming up. How exciting.

“Have fun playing, Will. I'm really excited to see how Bahlul Mustafazade will do against Dominic Solanke. Elvin Cafarquliyev was also brilliant every time I saw him. Greetings, Mr. Peters, Karabakh.”

Christoph writes an email to: “The 2004/05 Bundesliga opener was supposed to take place in Bremen at 8 p.m. Minutes before the start of the game there was a power outage nearby, resulting in all technology in the stadium being unavailable (although strangely the floodlights were still working). And just as the delayed kick-off was due to take place at 9.16pm, three of the four iconic floodlights went out, causing a further delay. The game finally started at 9:36 p.m. and Nelson Valdez's winning goal in the 83rd minute may be the last Bundesliga goal ever scored.

“There have also been electrical problems at the Weserstadion in the past: I remember a friendly match between Germany and Scotland in 1999 where the lights went out at half-time, which significantly delayed the restart. Much to the chagrin of the fans in attendance, the problem was fixed, meaning many people had to witness even more terrible football than they already did. And to add insult to injury, Scotland won 1-0.

“Enjoy your minute by minute,

“Christopher”

Content is king.

“Suppose you get paid for the late kick-off and the game lasts much longer than planned?” asks Mr. Harris.

I've already spoken to the union on the phone.

Qarabag also had to walk the last bit to reach the ground. What a day for their players.

Kick-off confirmed for 8.35pm

Hoddle and Crouch talk about the greatest Spurs player of all time. Hoddle backs Jimmy Greaves and adds that Son is in his top six or seven.

Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle had to complete the final leg of their journey on foot due to problems on the surrounding roads.

Qarabag arrives

I was at Erik ten Hag's press conference (more on that on Sunday). Jamie Jackson was on hand for a more immediate report.

Maybe it needs to be delayed…um…what's your favorite kickoff ever postponed?

Brennan Johnson: “I'm really excited, all the players were looking forward to it.

“It’s just a matter of getting into the right position. If I can do that, I’ll have the chance to score.”

“It’s a really good opportunity to win a trophy, we have a great team.”

We won't find out the kick-off time until they arrive. Pint?

Qarabag hasn’t arrived at the stadium yet…

Kick-off delayed

Ange Postecoglou: “It's exciting to be back in Europe. If you're not in Europe, you miss it. The players are excited and want to create a legacy.

“When you play against continental opponents, it’s always a different task than normal. It helps the team develop.

“It will be a great experience for the young boys from tonight onwards, I am sure they will learn a lot.

“Things you don’t win become a millstone around your neck, and to get rid of it you have to win things.”

Will there be dark arts in north London tonight?

Reading before the game.

Starting lineups

preamble