Arsenal v Wigan (a must win game for both)

[lapsedhibee]

Arsenal are at home to Wigan tonight.

Three possible results:

If Arsenal win they're on course for fourth, still in their own hands.
If they lose then Sunderland still have something to play for against Tottingham on Sunday: if Sunderland manage a draw and Arsenal beat Barcode FC, Arsenal finish fourth.
But if it's a draw then Wigan are relegated, Sunderland will have nothing to play for, Tottingham will beat them and Arsenal will finish fifth.

Hence, it will be better for Arsenal to lose against Wigan than to draw.

If scores are level near the end of tonight's match, should Arsenal's goalie just do a Zibby or two, as losing will give them a better chance of getting CL next season?

I fancy the match to finish 8-7.

[Treadstone]

Twisted logic. If Arsenal lost then they would have to win their last game to have any chance. Unlikely but two draws in their last two games is possibly enough.

[lapsedhibee]

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Twisted logic. If Arsenal lost then they would have to win their last game to have any chance. Unlikely but two draws in their last two games is possibly enough.

Two draws won't be enough for Arsenal. That would leave Spurs only needing a point from their last home game against Sunderland, who - if Arsenal draw tonight - will be in holiday mode.

Arsenal will have to beat Newcastle in any case. If they draw against Wigan, it will make it easier for Spurs to beat Sunderland. If Arsenal beat Newcastle and Spurs don't beat Sunderland, Arsenal are fourth.

The point is that if Arsenal lose rather than draw against Wigan, Sunderland will have to try much harder against Spurs and may stop them winning.

[Part/Time Supporter]

Nah, it just means that if it is level near the end, both teams will go very attack minded.

[lapsedhibee]

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Nah, it just means that if it is level near the end, both teams will go very attack minded.

0-0 HT, 8-7 (or 7-8) FT.

BUT if it's 7-7 going in to the 6th minute of injury time, the ref's looking at his watch and Wigan get a corner or a pen, Szczesny should do a Zibby. It'd be the right thing to do for his team.

[3pm]

1-1.

Maloney scores again.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Ronaldo-esque free kick, great strike!

[essexhibee]

Why doesn't he do it for Scotland?!

[Treadstone]

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Why doesn't he do it for Scotland?!

When has he ever been played in the hole for Scotland ?

Managers of Scotland are not brave enough, they'd rather have a five man midfield.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

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Why doesn't he do it for Scotland?!

He did, away to The Faroes, I backed him for the first goal @ about 8/1!

[frazeHFC]

Come on Wigan!

[IWasThere2016]

Good game now.

[easty]

Whats the Wigan keeper playing at coming out with his feet? A huge game where you need to man up and put your body on the line for the 3 points and he ****s himself from the oncoming Theo Walcott. Just not good enough from him at all.

[Craig_in_Prague]

Bye Wigan :-(

[Hibernia Na Eir]

so long Wigan

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Oh dear!

[Treadstone]

Wigans defence is abysmal.

[LancashireHibby]

Next season's Championship aka the Lancashire League is going to be an absolute belter.

[NOLA]

hard lines for wigan, going back where they belong.

[oramhibee]

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Ronaldo-esque free kick, great strike!

Griffiths-esque

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

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Griffiths-esque

Nah, he doesnae strike the ball like that!

[lapsedhibee]

If Chelski draw 0-0 with Everton and Arsenal beat Barcode FC 2-1 on Sunday, Chelski and Arsenal will have equal points, equal goal difference and equal goals scored. Should the Lith administrators offer the Pink Wongadome as the 3rd place play-off venue, raise a bit of cash for creditors?

[YehButNoBut]

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If Chelski draw 0-0 with Everton and Arsenal beat Barcode FC 2-1 on Sunday, Chelski and Arsenal will have equal points, equal goal difference and equal goals scored. Should the Lith administrators offer the Pink Wongadome as the 3rd place play-off venue, raise a bit of cash for creditors?

If there is a need for a play off it could be over 2 games but will cause problems as Chelsea have a tour organised next week. Would certainly be an interesting game if came off.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/n...or-third-place

Arsenal's heavy defeat of Wigan on Monday night has opened up the possibility of a play-off for third place in the Premier League.

The 4-1 win over the FA Cup winners moved them back into fourth place, ahead of fierce rivals Spurs, and it means a win at Newcastle on the final day of the season will guarantee them Champions League football.

It also meant they closed the gap on third-placed Chelsea to two points and left the chance that a not inconceivable set of results on Sunday would see them end the season level on points, goal difference and goals scored. Under Premier League rules, if qualification for a competition cannot be determined by any of those criteria, the sides involved must play one another at a neutral venue either once or twice.

Third place in the Premier League gains automatic qualification for the Champions League group stage with the team finishing fourth going into the play-off round.

Going into the final set of games - Chelsea host Everton - the Blues are two points ahead, have a goal difference advantage of one over their London rivals and have scored two more goals.

But that would only mean a combination of a 0-0 draw for Chelsea and a 2-1 win for Arsenal putting them level on all three criteria, the same applying for a 1-1 Chelsea draw and a 3-2 Arsenal win, and so on.

As well as the possible battle for third place, Tottenham are waiting in the wings for Arsenal to fall apart on the final day, when a Gunners defeat and Spurs victory at home to Sunderland would see them steal fourth and leave Arsenal playing in the Europa League next season.

The potential play-off could pose scheduling problems for the Premier League with Chelsea due to jet off for a tour next week while England are playing friendlies against the Republic of Ireland on May 29 and Brazil on June 2.

[Haymaker]

A playoff? Seriously?

[Part/Time Supporter]

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A playoff? Seriously?

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/n...-play-off.html

There's no means of dividing the teams other than points, GD and goals scored. The head to head results (which favour Chelsea IIRC) don't count. The problem in this case is that there is a clear difference in outcome between third and fourth - third qualifies for the CL groups, fourth only qualifies for the playoff round. If it was only place money at stake they could just split the difference.

The article above has an interesting picture of a ticket that was printed in case Man Yoo and Newcastle had been tied for first place at the end of the 95/96 season. They would have had a one game playoff at Wembley. Only £20 to get in! That was a bit more theoretical because Newcastle would have needed to beat Spurs 6-0 (they drew 1-1) and Man Yoo would have had to draw 1-1 with Middlesbrough (they won 3-0).

[Haymaker]

Why dont they use head to head? Pretty sure la liga and the CL do?