Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur only need to share 10 results at the end of the Premier League season to force a playoff to decide who finishes fourth and gets into the Champions League.
The race to finish fourth has really heated up with results in recent weeks leaving Arsenal in the driver's seat but local rivals Spurs just two points behind them.
Advert
Arsenal's win over Manchester United last weekend all but ended their hopes of finishing fourth, with West Ham also unlikely to end up in fourth.
With just five games of the season to go it could go to either north London club and their delayed derby, which was cancelled in January due to Covid, adds another twist to the tale.
The pair face on May 12th, in what could be the biggest game between them in some time, but if results go a certain way until the end of the season then they could be facing off in another game, to determine who ends up fourth.
One Arsenal fan posted 10 results that need to happen to force the play off, with the derby needing to finish 2-1 to Tottenham as part of the sequence.
If those results were to happen then both teams would be level on points, goal difference, goals scored, and obviously goals conceded. Head-to-head does come into it, but not as an aggregate
Advert
Arsenal won the first meeting between the two sides 3-1 so Spurs getting a 2-1 win would suggest the Gunners being 4-3 ahead on head-to-head.
However, it's points scored on head-to-head and then away goals in those games that counts, not aggregate score, which would be equal if Antonio Conte's side were 2-1 winners, resulting in the playoff.
Scenarios like this have come up in the past, although a playoff has never been needed to decide the positions, but often they aren't that feasable.
Advert
However, whilst 10 results going a specific way would have huge odds, none of the results on the list are particularly inconceivable.
Only three of the games need three goal margins and all of those are definitely possible, especially with Mikel Arteta's side having scored seven goals in their past two games against teams in the top six.
The other one requires Spurs to lose 3-0 to Liverpool and no one is arguing that could happen, especially with Jurgen Klopp's team still striving to win the Premier League.
The two sides were initially meant to meet in January, with the fixture coming just days after Arsenal had drawn with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi final.
Advert
They then asked the Premier League if they could postpone the game, leading to anger from Spurs, after their own request to delay a game had been delayed in December.
The club then annoyed rival fans further when they loaned out a player just days after getting the match postponed, leaving them even shorter on players.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Champions League
