The Egyptian League race enters its crucial stages, where calculations are narrowing between the leader Zamalek and the chasers Pyramids and Al Ahly, as the chances increase for the season to end with the three clubs tied in points.
The chances of the three clubs being tied in points have doubled after the leader Zamalek lost to their rival Al Ahly on Friday evening with a 0-3 score, during the fifth round of the championship stage in the Egyptian Premier League football, and Pyramids won against Enppi with a score of 3-2 in the same round.
Al Ahly has raised their score to 47 points in third place, while Zamalek has 50 points equaling with Pyramids at the top of the table, but Zamalek has the advantage of direct confrontations between the two.
With two matches left for each team, calculations indicate two main possibilities for a draw in the point tally by the end of the season:
1. Tied at 53 points: If Al Ahly wins their remaining two matches, with Zamalek and Pyramids losing one match each.
2. Tied at 50 points: If Al Ahly wins one match and loses the other, with Zamalek and Pyramids losing both their remaining matches.
If any of these scenarios occur, the professional clubs' league regulations state that deciding the title is subject to sequential technical criteria, starting first with direct confrontations between the teams tied in points.
Applying the criteria to the trio Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Pyramids in case they are tied in points:
1- Direct confrontations
This season, each team among the trio has achieved two wins and two losses in direct confrontations, which means they are perfectly equal in the mini tally (6 points for each team).
Thereafter, the deciding criterion automatically moves to the next item.
2- Goal difference in direct confrontations
The numbers officially indicate:
Pyramids: scored 5 goals and conceded 2 goals (goal difference +3 goals).
Al Ahly: scored 5 goals and conceded 6 goals (goal difference -1 goal).
Zamalek: scored 3 goals and conceded 5 goals (goal difference - two goals)
As per the regulations, if the three clubs are tied in final points, Pyramids will be crowned the league champions as a priority, Al Ahly will be the runner-up, while Zamalek will fall to third place.
However, if only Zamalek and Pyramids are tied in points at the end of the season, then Zamalek will win the Premier League title due to their advantage in direct confrontations.
If Pyramids and Al Ahly are tied, then Pyramids will have the priority to be crowned, and finally, if Al Ahly is tied with Zamalek, then "the Red Devils" will snatch the local title.
