Lamex Stadium

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Stevenage v Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Lamex Stadium for their FA Cup fifth round tie with League One side Stevenage on Sunday.

While at first glance Spurs fans will be delighted to have avoided a Premier League opponent in the draw, they will underestimate Boro at their own peril with Gary Smith’s side in fine form this season.

Stevenage have in fact gone from strength to strength over the past few years - starting with their promotion from the Blue Square Bet Premier in the 2009/10 season to their current sixth-place position in the third tier of the football league.

To arrive at this stage of the competition, Smith’s side have also been impressive in their destruction of Hartlepool, Stourbridge, Reading and Notts County while Harry Redknapp’s side overcame Cheltenham and Watford.

The two clubs have never played in a competitive match but both managers are expected to field their strongest teams.

Spurs’ run or form this season has been well documented, and they currently sit in third place in the Premier League, but they will need to be at their best to avoid an upset with Stevenage having lost just one of their last 20 games, at home to Leyton Orient.

Boro defender Scott Laird, who scored in the 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night to seal a double over the Hillsborough side, revealed his excitement ahead of the tie.

He told the club’s official website: “It’s a great game to look forward to. We’ve had to put it to the back of our minds which I think we’ve done well the last couple of weeks. We’ve concentrated on the games we’ve had to play and kept our run going which is very important.

“Our mentality has been to concentrate on the next game and now that we’ve successfully got through the game with Sheffield Wednesday we can look ahead to Tottenham.”

Last season Stevenage beat Newcastle 3-1 to reach the fourth round of the competition and are a team with big match experience having been the first side to win a competitive game at the new Wembley Stadium, claiming the FA Trophy in 2007, as well as the League Two play-off final against Torquay last May at Old Trafford and the FA Trophy Final in 2009.