Villa Park in line for third-place playoff

May 17, 2013 - 2:07 PM The Premier League announced on Friday that Villa Park will host a third-place play-off between Chelsea and Arsenal on May 26 if the two sides cannot be separated in the table.

The play-off will only take place if, after their final games of the season on Sunday, the two teams are level on points, goal difference and goals scored.

The team finishing third in the Premier League qualifies automatically for next season's Champions League, but the team finishing fourth will enter the competition in the final qualifying round.

"Should a play-off be necessary, the Premier League has made arrangements for a single match to take place at Villa Park on Sunday 26 May 2013," the Premier League said in a statement.

The game would jeopardise Chelsea's plans to play Manchester City in an end-of-season friendly in New York the day before, but the Premier League said both Chelsea and Arsenal had been consulted about the plans.

Villa Park, home of Premier League club Aston Villa, was a regular neutral venue for FA Cup semi-finals until the games became routinely staged at Wembley following the stadium's re-opening in 2007.

Source: AAP