The criteria for the top
There are four rounds left for the final of the championship, with Aris now in first place in the standings, being +3 ahead of APOEL. The discussion about the champion now has the Limassol team as a clear favorite, however for the moment both teams determine their fate, as the trophy passes through their own feet. Of course, in the case of APOEL, several things will have to change, since the collection of five points in the play offs alone does not radiate optimism to “Archangelos” in view of the continuation.
Nevertheless, the scenario of a tie exists, and in such a case according to the announcement of the championship there is a series of five criteria that determine the team that will win the title.
The announcement:
“In the event that two or more teams have the same number of points, the following criteria will be used in strict order to rank them
8.1. Points earned in games between teams tied in all league matches.
8.2. The goal difference in games between teams tied in all league matches.
8.3. Most away goals between teams tied in all league matches.
8.4. The total goal difference in all league matches.
8.5. The most goals scored in all league matches”.
So far, the two teams have met three times (two in the regular season and one in the play offs), with Aris counting one victory, and two other games ending in a draw. Practically according to the previous results in the matches between the two teams, an APOEL victory will “cancel” the first criterion which concerns the points they won in the four games they gave. Both teams will have collected 5 points each and therefore the champion will not emerge from the first criterion.
The results:
APOEL – Aris 0-1 (first round of regular time)
Aris – APOEL 1-1 (second round of regular time)
Aris – APOEL 0-0 (first round of play off)
The three scenarios for the champion
Therefore, the “Blue and Yellows” will need a victory with at least 2 goals to win the championship. This results from the second tie criterion as in the event of APOEL winning by two or more goals then the difference in goals for/against the games between the two teams will be in favor of the “Blue and Yellow”.
In the scenario that APOEL wins by one goal, with both teams having scored, then Aris will be crowned champion as the first two criteria are canceled and according to the third tie criterion, Spilevski's team will have achieved more away goals than Milojevic's in games between them.
If APOEL wins again with 1-0 then the championship will probably end up in Aris as it will count the fourth tie criterion, according to which the total goal difference in all championship games. At the moment Aris is at +35, while APOEL is at +25. In practice, the team from Limassol maintains a 10-goal difference from the “Blue and Yellow” and it is difficult to overturn this.
