Tottenham one point away from safety as Kinsky keeps his place

Tottenham go to Chelsea needing just one point to confirm Premier League safety, and Roberto De Zerbi has backed Antonín Kinský again by keeping him in goal. Guglielmo Vicario is back in training after hernia surgery, but he is not sharp yet, so Kinsky keeps the shirt for one of Spurs' biggest nights of the season.

Why De Zerbi has stuck with Kinsky

De Zerbi's call is not a panic move. It is a vote for the keeper who has done enough to hold the job while Vicario works back to full sharpness. The strongest evidence sits in Kinsky's recent numbers: his best rating across his last five Premier League matches is 7.9, and Spurs have been unbeaten in four of those five games.

That fits the wider team form as well. Tottenham's last five league results are DWWDL, which is not the profile of a side arriving at Stamford Bridge looking fragile. It does not guarantee anything against Chelsea, but it gives De Zerbi a reason to keep the same goalkeeper rather than rush Vicario back before he is ready.

The safety equation is already in Spurs' hands

The table now leaves Tottenham with a straightforward target. Spurs need just one point to confirm safety, and West Ham's 3-1 defeat at Newcastle has taken most of the uncertainty out of the picture. Tottenham are 17th with 38 points and a goal difference of -9, while West Ham are 18th with 36 points and a goal difference of -22.

That gap matters because it means Spurs are not waiting on other results to rescue them. If they take a point at Stamford Bridge, the issue is done. If they do not, the job rolls on, but the margin for error is still there. Given where Tottenham were earlier in the campaign, that is a decent position to be in before a trip to Chelsea.

The final call is still a football one rather than a spreadsheet one, and De Zerbi has made his. Kinsky stays in goal, Vicario stays on the bench, and Tottenham can settle the survival question against Chelsea if they get the point they need.