Game 39 on the horizon? Liverpool’s Champions League fate could hinge on a never‑before playoff

Well, here’s a twist no one saw coming. The Premier League might need a one-off decider — a bona fide Game 39 — to settle who bags the final Champions League berth. It’s still a long shot, but if Liverpool and Bournemouth mirror each other in all the usual tiebreakers, we’re off to a neutral venue for a winner-takes-all showdown. Box office, that.

The lay of the land

Liverpool start the final day three points clear of Bournemouth, helped by Erling Haaland’s late equaliser for Manchester City against the Cherries on Tuesday. Arne Slot’s side host Brentford at Anfield, needing just a draw to rubber-stamp a Champions League return. Bournemouth head to Nottingham Forest knowing only a win, a Liverpool defeat, and a hefty swing in the numbers will do.

What needs to happen

Here’s where it gets quirky. The league sorts ties by goal difference first, then goals scored, then the head-to-head, and finally away goals in those meetings. Liverpool currently enjoy a six-goal cushion on goal difference. To end level across the board, Bournemouth must overturn the three-point gap and orchestrate a day where they outscore Liverpool by exactly five goals while also flipping the overall goal difference — for instance, Bournemouth 5-0 at Forest and Liverpool 0-1 against Brentford. Any combination producing the same split would do the trick.

Why even that wouldn’t split them

Head-to-head is no help. Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 at Anfield earlier in the campaign; the Cherries returned the favour 3-2 at the Vitality. Points taken? Even. Away goals in those meetings? Two apiece. With every conventional tiebreaker exhausted, the rulebook points to a neutral‑venue playoff to decide fifth — and the last ticket to Europe’s top table.

Game 39: the stakes and the sizzle

If it comes to it, the playoff could go to extra time and even penalties. For Liverpool, it would be a maddening add-on to a stop-start title defence — one more nerve-jangler, but also one more outing to savour Mohamed Salah under the lights. For Bournemouth, it would be the chance to crown the most extraordinary season in their history with a tilt at the Champions League. Neutrals would lap it up; managers, perhaps less so.

The chatter

Salah’s verdict on the three teams has already set social media abuzz, but the talking ends once the whistle goes. Liverpool simply need to be professional and take a point. Bournemouth, meanwhile, must play front-foot football and hope the stars align at Anfield. It’s a puncher’s chance — and they’ll fancy it while there’s breath in the race.

For the number-crunchers

If you’re tracking permutations, odds and late swings, our guide to the best markets on the final day is a handy companion over on betting sites uk. Key reminder: Bournemouth must both overturn the three-point deficit and finish level with Liverpool on goal difference and goals scored — that means outscoring the Reds by exactly five on the day while flipping the overall goal swing.

However it breaks, this finale has the whiff of chaos. Liverpool can slam the door with a routine draw; Bournemouth can blow it off its hinges with a statement win and a prayer. And if the maths lands just so, clear your diary. Game 39 would be the most Premier League thing the Premier League has ever done.