Premier League: The five criteria to break a tie between Manchester City and Arsenal in case of an end-of-season tie

The Premier League title race is currently in full swing in England. With five matchdays remaining in this thrilling season, Arsenal and Manchester City are level on points and have the same goal difference. Here are the five criteria that could separate these two teams.

What if the Premier League were decided in a final playoff on neutral ground? Football fans would certainly be thrilled by the idea, but before that, four other criteria come into play and are only taken into account if Manchester City and Arsenal are level on points on May 24th after the 38th matchday.

And this scenario is becoming increasingly concrete. Indeed, Manchester City have turned everything upside down in recent weeks. After their narrow victory at Burnley on Wednesday evening (1-0) thanks to a goal from Erling Haaland in the fifth minute, the Sky Blues have climbed back to the top of the Premier League for the first time since August.

A playoff for the title in the criteria

In a thread posted on the social network X, Canal+ Foot revealed the five criteria that would be used to separate the two teams at the end of the season in the event of a tie on points. The first criterion is very simple: goal difference. Currently, both teams have a similar goal difference (+37). So, let's move on to the second criterion: the best attack. And, for the moment, it's Pep Guardiola's men who have scored the most goals after 35 matches played this season in the Premier League (66 versus 63).

If Arsenal manages to close this gap by the end of the season, the third criterion will be taken into account. And that's where the problem lies for Mikel Arteta's team. The points earned in head-to-head matches belong to City. They won the last match between the two teams last weekend. This valuable victory changes the dynamic, as the two sides drew in their first encounter last September.

But if the scenario had been different this Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, and Gunners and City had only managed a draw, here are the last two criteria that would have been taken into account. The fourth is the number of away goals scored in head-to-head matches. City scored one at the Emirates Stadium, just as Arsenal did at the Etihad Stadium. Finally, the fifth and final criterion is, without a doubt, the most exciting: the famous title play-off on neutral ground. This has simply never happened in the history of the Premier League since the competition's inception in 1992. This season, this scenario cannot occur either, as Manchester City has the advantage in terms of points obtained in head-to-head matches. Nevertheless, the suspense remains completely high until the end of what promises to be a rather crazy Premier League season.

The schedule for both teams at the end of the Premier League season

Manchester City:

Everton (away), May 4

Brentford (home), May 9

Bournemouth (away), on May 17, could be postponed due to the FA Cup

Crystal Palace (home), to be determined

Aston Villa (home), May 24