Tottenham Hotspur travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend with another chance to drag themselves closer to safety, but the margin for error is now painfully thin.
Spurs remain in the bottom three, and their situation has become so desperate that a draw at Molineux would no longer feel like progress.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side showed some improvement in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion, but a late equaliser turned a potentially vital win into another reminder of their fragility.
That result extended their winless Premier League run to 15 matches, leaving them still searching for a first league victory since December.
That is a staggering collapse for a club of Tottenham’s size, but the only useful response now is to focus on the next opportunity.
Wolves are ideal opponents on paper, but this is unlikely to be straightforward.
Rob Edwards’s side have already had their drop to the Championship confirmed, but their final home games still carry importance.
The players will want to give their supporters something to cling to, and there is also the motivation of dragging Spurs further into danger.
That makes this a strange but compelling fixture between two sides near the bottom of the table, with one already down and the other fighting to avoid joining them.
Tottenham cannot afford to approach it as though Wolves have nothing to offer.
They must build on the better parts of the Brighton performance, especially the attacking contribution of Xavi Simons, whose creativity gave them rare moments of belief.
However, belief without game management has been the story of their season.
They have repeatedly found ways to give up advantages, and their lack of clean sheets since New Year’s Day explains why they remain in this position.
Spurs need more control, more composure and more ruthlessness. A narrow improvement is no longer enough.
They need the kind of performance that suggests they still have the mentality to survive.
The injury list does not help, with several senior players still absent and James Maddison unlikely to be ready for a major role despite returning to the squad.
Wolves also have availability issues, but Tottenham’s focus has to be on themselves. They have spent months waiting for a turning point, and only a few games remain to find one.
This is the moment to turn an encouraging draw into a badly needed win. Anything less would deepen the fear that Tottenham are running out of chances to save themselves.
