It's ATK vs Chennai, Delhi vs Goa in the semis regardless of what happens in final league match

THE QUESTION OF who will play who in the upcoming Indian Super League semi-finals has been answered already, regardless of what happens in the last regular season encounter between Delhi Dynamos and FC Goa tomorrow.

Thanks to their 1-0 win over Pune City earlier tonight, Chennaiyin FC reached the second spot on the table, with 22 points from 14 matches, and featuring a +10 goal difference; the best in ISL.

Atletico de Kolkata, meanwhile, are presently sitting at the top, having ended their regular season with 23 points from 14 matches (+9 goal difference).

Delhi Dynamos and FC Goa are both on 22 points from 13 matches each. But while Goa have an impressive goal difference (+8) Delhi are lagging behind in that respect (-1); not that it will bar them from having a semi-final berth.

So when Delhi and Goa play tomorrow night, whoever wins goes straight to the top of the table with 25 points. And whoever loses will finish at the 4th place because of Chennaiyin's superior goal difference. 

That would set up a semi-final clash between Delhi and Goa as the 1st and 4th team, and ATK will face Chennai as the 2nd and 3rd teams on the table.

But if Delhi and Goa play out a draw, Atletico de Kolkata remain at the top thanks to their higher goal difference, and Chennai drop to 4th because both Delhi and Goa will end with 23 points each. That way, ATK and Chennai will face each other as the 1st and 4th teams, while Delhi and Goa will be paired with each other as the 2nd and 3rd teams. 

So no matter what happens tomorrow night, Roberto Carlos and Materazzi will once again go head to head in the semi-finals. So tomorrow's match will give both teams a nice sparring opportunity, to test each other and hone themselves for the big stage encounters that will follow in a few days.

The only thing that tomorrow's match will decide is when the teams play their semi-final matches; not who they play.