Clement keen to avoid survival playoff for Swans and Tigers
REUTERS - Swansea City hope to avoid the prospect of taking part in a first-ever Premier League relegation playoff against Hull City but are prepared for the scenario should it be necessary to ensure survival, manager Paul Clement has said.
The "39th game" would take place if both sides finished joint 18th, level on points, goal difference and goals scored, with Clement aware that a one-off decider remains possible as Swansea trail Hull by two points with three games remaining.
"It (playoff) is a possibility, isn't it?" Clement told reporters on Thursday. "We're two better on goal difference, four goals better (scored). So it is tight.
"Obviously you want to try to avoid it but at the same time I'd take it (rather than going down)."
The Premier League would need to schedule a survival showdown at a neutral venue should the two sides complete the season with identical records.
Marco Silva's 17th-placed Hull have a chance to pull further clear from the drop zone against basement side Sunderland, before Swansea against seventh-placed Everton later on Saturday.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru)