Can Premier League title be won on goal difference or goals scored?
With Man City and Arsenal now level on points, we look at how the title could be decided
Manchester City are top of the Premier League table for the first time since the opening week of the season, after beating Burnley 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Man City’s victory put them level on points with Arsenal, on 70 from 33 games, and level on goal difference, but they have a superior tally of goals scored.
With the competition for the title so close, it raises the possibility that Premier League’s top two will finish the season level on points for only the second time in the competition’s history.
So, how would the title then be decided?
Rule C.17 of the Premier League Handbook states that the final table placings are determined by the following criteria, in this order:
– goal difference
– goals scored
– points won in head-to-head matches
– away goals scored in head-to-head matches
– a playoff match
Currently, Man City have a goal difference of +37, with 66 goals scored and 29 conceded.
Arsenal also have a goal difference of +37. However, Mikel Arteta’s men have scored 63 goals, meaning they trail their rivals on the second metric used to separate sides in the table. The onus is therefore on Arsenal to outscore City in their final five games.
Top two’s remaining matches
If the clubs finish level on points, goal difference AND goals scored, Man City would be crowned champions because they have won more points across the two head-to-head matches with Arsenal this season.
Guardiola’s team won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, following a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium in September, meaning they have picked up four points from the two fixtures, compared to Arsenal’s one.
That means that there can be no playoff match to decide the title this season. That would only have been possible had Man City and Arsenal drawn 1-1 again last weekend, but Erling Haaland’s winner put paid to that.
The last – and only – time the Premier League’s top two finished level on points and the title was decided on goal difference was in 2011/12, when Man City finished top for the first time in the competition’s history.
That was the season when Sergio Aguero scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to complete a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Queens Park Rangers on the final day.
It meant Man City finished level with Manchester United on 89 points, but claimed their first top-flight title in 44 years courtesy of a +64 goal difference, which bettered their rivals’ +56.
While 2011/12 is the only time goal difference has come into play to crown the champions, the title has been settled by a single point in six different seasons, most recently in 2021/22, when Man City pipped Liverpool thanks to a 3-2 final-day comeback win over Aston Villa.
Back to this season, Arsenal will have the chance to regain top spot when they host Newcastle United on Saturday, with Man City in FA Cup semi-final action against Southampton.