Joy Sports on Multi-TV’s Europa match of the week featured two sides battling it out for top spot in Group A. A brilliant free-kick from Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko earned Tottenham a 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan at White Hart Lane , providing Harry Redknapp with a timely reminder of his talents after the Spurs boss had admitted he would reluctantly consider offers for the player in January. Pavlyuchenko blasted home an early contender for goal of the season with a powerful strike that flew in off the bar. Surprise starter Heurelho Gomes did well to deny Gokdeniz Karadeniz in the first half, and Tottenham were second best for most of the second half, but they held on to register the win that moved them two points clear at the top of Group A - two points ahead of PAOK Salonika, who powered past Shamrock Rovers 2-1. In other games in the Europa League on Thursday, Cameron Jerome was controversially sent off as Stoke strolled to a 3-0 home win over Maccabi Tel Aviv to consolidate their position at the top of Group E. First-half headers from Kenwyne Jones and Jerome and a finish from Ryan Shotton put the Potters in control. They were then reduced to 10 men as Jerome collected a second yellow card in the 43rd minute but held on for the win. Denys Garmash scored the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time against Besiktas to send Dynamo Kiev second in the pool. Fernando Llorente scored two second-half penalties as Group F leaders Athletico Bilbao fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at Salzburg. The win moved Athletic on to seven points at the top of the pool - three points ahead of Salzburg and Paris St Germain. Mehdi Benatia and Antonio Floro Flores were both on target as the hosts moved three points clear of their rivals, who suffered their first defeat in the pool. In the same pool, Joe Ledley's second-half header gave Celtic a deserved 1-1 draw at Rennes. Schalke and Maccabi Haifa remained first and second in Group J after both recorded 5-0 victories. Maccabi also took a big step towards the last 32, remaining a point behind the Royal Blues with a 5-0 home triumph over nine-man Steaua Bucharest. FC Twente moved three points clear at the top of Group K thanks to a 4-1 victory over Odense BK in Denmark.Goals from Wout Brama, Emir Bajrami and substitute Nacer Chadli put the Dutch side firmly in control and, although Djiby Fall pulled one back for the hosts, Luuk de Jong soon restored Twente's three-goal cushion. In the same group, Polish champions Wisla Krakow secured their first points with a 1-0 win over Fulham. David Biton struck the all-important goal after the Cottagers had had Moussa Dembele sent off. Anderlecht maintained their 100% Group L record with a 2-0 win over 10-man Sturm Graz at the UPC-Arena thanks to second-half goals from Guillaume Gillet and Matias Suarez. Sturm defender Thomas Burgstaller saw red in between. Second-placed Lokomotiv Moscow boosted their hopes of also advancing with a 3-1 triumph against AEK Athens in the Russian capital. Metalist Kharkiv overcame the first-half dismissal of Jonathan Cristaldo to hammer Malmo 4-1 in Sweden and move to the top of Group G.The result meant Metalist moved two points clear of AZ Alkmaar at the pool summit as the Eredivisie leaders drew 2-2 at home to Austria Vienna. The visitors had taken a 2-0 first-half lead through a Dirk Marcellis own goal and a Gorgon strike, but goals by Peter Hlinka and Pontus Wernbloom in the last 10 minutes rescued a point for AZ, who had Niklas Moisander sent off in stoppage time. Chris Wood scored a stunning winner in the 10th minute of stoppage time to secure Birmingham a 2-1 win at Club Brugge and move the Blues alongside their hosts at the top of Group H. In the same pool, NK Maribor and Braga battled out a 1-1 draw. Vorskla Poltava secured their first point in this year's Europa League as they enjoyed a surprise goalless draw at Group B leaders Standard Liege. In the same pool, a last-minute goal from Cesar Santin earned FC Copenhagen a 2-2 draw at Hannover.The home side twice took the lead through Christian Pander and Sergio Pinto, but Dame N'doye replied first before Santin hit a second equaliser. Two goals in the final two minutes saw Udinese overcome Atletico Madrid 2-0 and maintain their unbeaten record in Europa League Group I. PSV Eindhoven strengthened their grip on first place in Group C with a 1-0 win at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Georgino Wijnaldum's 70th-minute penalty proving decisive in Israel. Miroslav Radovic put Legia Warsaw in pole position for second spot with a second-half winner in a 1-0 triumph at Rapid Bucharest. Sporting Lisbon maintained their 100% record in Group D with a 2-0 home win over Vaslui. Also in Group D, Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw at FC Zurich. Giuseppe Sculli put the Italian side ahead in the 22nd minute but Zurich equalised seconds later through Nikci Adrian as both teams remained winless after three games. Soccer thrills continue on Joy Sports and Adom-TV this weekend: In the EPL, Aston Villa host West Browich Albion at 2pm on Saturday. Hamburg play Wolsburg in the German Bundesliga at 4:30pm on Saturday. French Ligue 1 action is LIVE at 5pm on Real TV, Channel 010. In Sunday’s Serie A match of the week SS Lazio take on Bologna at 6:45pm.