Leeds United relegation battle: What happens if two teams finish on the same points?

A nerve-shredding final three weeks to the season lies in wait as Leeds United look to mount a successful battle against relegation from the Premier League.

Southampton look all but condemned to life in the Championship as they sit six points shy of safety at the bottom of the table with just three games remaining. But there are four clubs battle to avoid the two remaining relegation spots and all of them face some challenging fixtures between now and the final day of the season.

Leeds have two home games against sides challenging for a place in Europe as Saturday’s meeting with Newcastle United and their final day clash with Tottenham Hotspur come either side of a trip to the London Stadium on Sunday week.

Their three main rivals come in the form of Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, with the latter crashing to a 5-3 defeat at Fulham to remain deep in trouble. Just one point separated the quartet ahead of Forest’s home game with basement club Southampton and Everton’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday evening and it would not be beyond the realms of possibility to see two sides either side of the dreaded dotted line end the season on level points.

So what happens in that scenario and which side would find themselves preparing for life in the Championship as the other breathes a sigh of relief after prolonging their stay in the top tier?

According to the official Premier League rule book, there is a set list of deciding factors should two sides remain on level points. It reads: “If any clubs finish with the same number of points, their position in the Premier League table is determined by goal difference, then the number of goals scored, then the team who collected the most points in the head-to-head matches, then who scored most away goals in the head-to-head.”