Brad Friedel’s a fan of double act

“Jermain always plays on the shoulder of the defender so if a team want to push high up the pitch, he will always keep them honest. The goal he scored against Panathinaikos was just on-side but he is always right on the edge so defenders have to keep an eye on him.”

Against the Greeks, Adebayor and Defoe did not combine as efficiently as they have in other games, yet both men still made decisive contributions. Adebayor scored with his only clear chance to give Spurs the lead in the 29th minute, while Defoe wasted opportunities but produced an assured finish seven minutes from time to ensure his team’s progress.

Defoe also hit the post shortly before Zeca’s 54th-minute equaliser for the visitors. That goal made Spurs uncertain and they regained their composure only when the second goal arrived, Clint Dempsey’s header striking the bar and rebounding into the net off goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis after 76 minutes.

Three wins in the space of a week in the Premier League has given Tottenham confidence again after a period of poor domestic form. Their record of four away victories in the top flight is inferior only to that of United, who have six, and Jan Vertonghen is convinced Villas-Boas’s team can collect a fifth at Goodison Park.

He added: “After the way we have played in our last three League games, we know we can beat anyone and that is what we will be going for on Sunday.”

Spurs are one of four English clubs in last 32 — along with Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea — but Villas-Boas believes his former employers, who finished third in their Champions League group, should not have been allowed to drop down from Europe’s premier competition.

The ex-Chelsea boss said: “It’s extremely unfair. You can’t give a bonus to teams who have failed.

“I’ve not made this up today. I have said this in UEFA meetings before. It’s up to them to decide but I think it’s not fair.

“It would be much fairer if the clubs came in to the Europa League when they are knocked out of the last 16 of the Champions League.”

Liverpool, Anzhi Makhachkala, Dynamo Kiev, Viktoria Plzen, Atletico Madrid, Olympiakos, Fenerbahce, Borussia Monchengladbach, Zenit St Petersburg, Bordeaux, Newcastle, Ajax, Steaua Bucharest, Stuttgart, Chelsea, Dnipro, Napoli, BATE, Genk, Basel, Benfica, Rubin Kazan, Inter, Cluj, Lyon, Sparta Prague, Lazio, Tottenham, Metalist Kharkiv, Bayer Leverkusen, Hannover, Levante. (Draw for next two rounds: Dec 20, Nyon, Switzerland).