The Premier League is currently having one of its most intense title races. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City are just separated by a point as the final phase of the league begins. Arsenal are top of the table but just on goal difference. The margins are so bare that everyone has started to wonder about all the tie-break scenarios the team should find on the same points.
In a 38-game season, the permutations and combinations are so vast that we rarely see a team finish on the same points in any of the 20 positions. In fact, seasons like 2018-19 and 2021-22, where the title was decided by one point, are rare.
So, what will happen if two or three of these finish on the same points? How will the title be decided? Will there be a play-off game, or will other statistical forces be at play? What are the Premier League tie breaker? We explain.
Premier League tie-break rule:
One of the major differences in the tie-break rules across various leagues is its first major proponent. If two or more teams finish on the same points, the first metric that is considered is either goal difference or head-to-head record.
There are two instances where a league title was decided through either of the two scenarios. The head-to-head decider happened in the 2006-07 La Liga season. At the end of the season, Real Madrid and Barcelona finished with 76 points. Barcelona had a goal difference of +45 compared to Real Madrid’s +26. However, since La Liga decided its winners on the basis of head-to-head records, Los Blancos won the title as they had one and drawn against Barcelona that season.
This graphic was from Friday.
There’s now just one point between the top three sides after 28 games.
Officially one of the closest title races in history.#LIVMCI pic.twitter.com/0dykIcvdzw
— Ollie Hopkins (@oliver_hopkins) March 10, 2024
The goal difference one, however, has a far crazier story, something that every football fan remembers. In the 2011-12 Premier League season, Manchester City and Manchester United were level on points going into the final day. While United won their game against Sunderland, City were losing against Queens Park Rangers when the injury time started. The Blues, however, managed a comeback for the ages, scoring two goals in quick succession, the latter of which came courtesy of Sergio Kun Aguero, which sent the entire Etihad stadium into a frenzy. City finished level on points with United but won the title as they had a better goal difference than the Red Devils.
Read More: Explained: The New Champions League Format
In the case of the Premier League, if the teams are tied on goal difference as well, then the league accounts for the number of goals scored is taken into account. If the two teams are still equal, then the head-to-head record will come into play. The next tiebreaker is away goals scored in head-to-head games. The final Premier League tiebreaker is the play-off match, which will be played if all the tiebreakers fail to separate both teams.
So, the Premier League tie breaker tie breaker in order are as follows:
- Points
- Goal difference
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head points
- Head-to-head away goals scored
- Play-off
Premier League tiebreaker history
In the 2019-20 season, though, the Premier League faced a new enemy: COVID-19. At the height of the pandemic, many were unsure whether the league would continue. When the league was suspended, Liverpool had a monstrous lead of 25 points over second-placed Manchester City with nine games remaining.
While the season continued in June, the experience meant that the Premier League drafted new rules if COVID-19 affected the next season. The league produced a set of draft rules that stated that the season would be considered finished if teams played 50 percent of the games.
However, the tiebreakers in these scenarios would be based on averages of metrics such as average points won per game. The rules were never enforced as the following seasons were unaffected by Covid-19.