A five goal feast at the Britannia Stadium; whatever next? At least Rafael Van der Vaart stuck the script. The Dutchman notched once again in a disappointing 1-1 draw for Spurs, maintaining his record of scoring in every game he’s played at White Hart Lane; a case of “he started so he finished”…

Tony Pulis made four changes to the Stoke side for Birmingham’s visit to the Britannia, as he looked to stop a run of four straight league defeats. Suspension to Ryan Shawcross allowed Danny Higginbottom a chance, but the defender put in a nervy performance at the heart of the Stoke defence. Jermain Pennant and Rory Delap’s ability to fire balls into the opposition box also saw them start against Alex McLeish’s men. Robert Huth produced an impressive aerial display at both ends of the pitch that saw him grab a goal, while a moment of magic from Ricardo Fuller and a scrappy tap-in from Dean Whitehead were enough to win the points for Stoke. Sir Paulos

Birmingham brought Craig Gardner and Jean Beausejour into the side and benched Alex Hleb and Keith Fahey for the trip to Stoke. Fahey eventually replaced the Chilean winger to notch the visitors’ first goal before Cameron Jerome netted the second. Alex McLeish’s outfit came back from 2-0 down for the second time in four days, but this time their toils were in vain, as Stoke finally saw off their visitors in an unexpected goal-fest. Birmingham have now conceded 2 or more goals in 5 of their 6 away games so far this season, worrying news for Fantasy owners of Ben Foster and co. Up next? A trip to Eastlands, where Carlos Tevez awaits..Sir Paulos

Harry Redknapp made a handful of changes from the team that lost 4-2 up at Bolton just a few days ago as it was David Bentley’s turn to make his first start of the season, Tom Huddlestone was recalled back into central midfield and Roman Pavluychenko rewarded Peter Crouch a rest. Rafael Van Der Vaart also declared himself fit to play and proved vital once more when combining with Peter Crouch (off the bench at half time) to score his seventh goal in six games at White Hart Lane.

Van der Vaart continued his incredible scoring record at home then, once again compounding the difference in returns between him and team-mate Gareth Bale. The Welshman again contributed a paltry two points for his owners. Ironically, while Van der Vaart had suffered a price drop in the FPL in the last 24 hours, Bale has increased in value. It won’t be long before that situation is reversed. With his goal threat and overall contribution and influence on Tottenham’s play, Van der Vaart continues to look the far more viable option and even the most stubborn of Bale supporters will surely be making plans for Rafael.

Spurs have, rather surprisingly, scored just 14 goals from their 12 Premier League games this season and have not kept a clean sheet since the opening day of the season. Despite Van der Vaart’s influence then, there are concerns for Redknapp at both ends of the field. Jermain Defoe will surely walk back into the side once fit.

Roman Pavlyuchenko was subbed at half-time with a back in injury, while Redknapp also revealed post-match that Robbie Keane has picked up an ankle knock. Both will be doubts for the home clash with Blackburn this weekend.

Opposing manager Steve Bruce didn’t want to be bested on any fronts however and he made six changes to the team that lost to Stoke with the likes of Titus Bramble, Anton Ferdinand, Bolo Zenden, Kieran Richardson and Craig Gordon all coming in, the most notable absentee was that off Ahmed Elmohammady who was only afford a place on the bench and went unused on the night. Whether this was a simple case of rest with a deep squad at a busy time or something else, things will need to watched closely from here on in. Elmohammady had been subbed in his previous two Gameweeks prior to last night’s game – indication that his starting role is far from secure. With Craig Gordon now installed back in goal for Sunderland – Simon Mignolet’s value as a budget Fantasy proposition looks bleak; Gordon had an outstanding game on his return.

The Black Cats travel to Stamford Bridge next, with Bruce perhaps likely to stick to the formula used to snuff out Spurs in the second-half of last night’s game. Anton Ferdinand, who started at left-back, will be an immediate doubt for that game however – after limping off on 18 minutes last night.

Record signing Asamoah Gyan once again proved effective in rescuing Sunderland a point; he capitalised on a mistake between Kaboul and Gallas and duly slotted home. The likely absence of Darren Bent for the next couple of weeks should also see the Ghanaian look to capitalise on a run of games and begin to share some of the goalscoring burden. Bent and Gyan are still the only two players to have scored for Sunderland in the league so far this season.