Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: League Two, Football
Alex Brotherton
An EFL club could be relegated under bizarre circumstances if two results happen this weekend.
The League One and League Two seasons will both conclude on Saturday, with promotion battles and relegation scraps going down to the wire.
While Stockport County, Mansfield Town and Wrexham have already clinched the automatic promotion spots in League Two, at the other end of the table there are still matters to be resolved.
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Forest Green Rovers have already been relegated to the National League, and Sutton United and Colchester United are fighting to avoid joining them.
Sutton are odds-on to join them, as they are 23rd in the standings and three points behind Colchester going into the final day.
On Saturday Sutton travel to MK Dons while Colchester host play-off hopefuls Crewe Alexandra.
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Sutton need to win and hope Colchester lose to have any hope of staying up, but if certain results happen, then Sutton will be relegated under unusual circumstances.
Both clubs could finish with the same number of points, goal difference and goals scored.
A 3-0 win for Sutton and a 1-0 defeat for Colchester could lead to this scenario, as would a 3-1 victory and a 2-0 loss.
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Both meetings between the two clubs this season ended 1-1, so the usual head-to-head record tie-breaker would not separate them.
Under EFL rules, the two teams would then be separated by the number of games won this season. In that event, Sutton would be relegated with 10 wins, one fewer than Colchester.
If the above situation plays out, then it would surely go down as one of the cruelest relegations ever.
Of course, a big win for Sutton and a heavy defeat for Colchester would see the former stay up on goal difference.
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The waters are muddied by the fact that Colchester need just a point to secure survival, while a draw would be enough for their opponents Crewe to clinch a play-off place.