NPFL TITLE RACE, RELEGATION BATTLE GO DOWN TO FINAL DAY

By: Gyang Dakwo

The race for the Nigeria Premier Football League title will now be decided on the final day of the season after dramatic Matchday 37 results kept both the championship and relegation battles wide open.

Only two teams are now left in the fight for the title. Enugu Rangers International top the table with 65 points after 37 matches, while Rivers United FC are just one point behind with the same number of games played.

Both clubs have already secured places in next season’s CAF Champions League, but the league crown will only be decided after the final round of matches on May 24.

This is one of the closest finishes in recent NPFL history because no club has been able to seal the title before the last day. The battle remains too close to call and celebrations will have to wait until the final whistle on Matchday 38.

At the bottom of the table, the relegation fight is also still alive as only two clubs have officially been relegated so far.

Former champions Bayelsa United and Wikki Tourists both dropped from the top flight after painful defeats on Matchday 37.

Bayelsa United suffered a 2-1 loss away to Remo Stars in Ikenne, and the result boosted Remo Stars’ own survival hopes while ending Bayelsa’s stay in the league. In Bauchi, Wikki Tourists twice took the lead against Rivers United at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, but they eventually lost 3-2 in an exciting encounter that confirmed their relegation.

However, the battle to avoid the drop is far from over because teams placed between ninth and eighteenth on the table can still be relegated depending on results on the final day.

Matchday 38, which will decide both the champions and the remaining relegation spots, will be played on May 24.