Melbourne City might be three points clear of third on the A-League ladder, yet their position in the top two come seasons’ end is far from assured.

At home to Adelaide and Sydney over the final fortnight of their season, City could still concede a precious spot in the top two and miss out on a valuable week off to start the finals.

Auckland are as good as locked away as premiers, with only a remarkable scoring rate from City in their final two matches and two losses for the ladder leaders, bringing them even close to the team that has set the pace all season and deserves the honour.

That twist of fate is unlikely to take place and the late awarding of the plate after what has been a compelling race for it is overridden by the chaos taking place behind it.

Western United (41), Western Sydney (40), Melbourne Victory (39) and Sydney FC (37) all have two matches to play and the first three still have a mathematical chance of claiming second spot and earning a break over the first weekend of the finals.

Adelaide United looks to be on the outer, with just one match to play this weekend against City and relying on Western Sydney, Victory and Sydney to slip up badly across the final two weeks to have a chance of sneaking in.

What makes the entire scenario most interesting are the match-ups that will unfold, with the finals aspirants involved in potential six point clashes that will effect not only the fates of the two teams involved, but also those circling nearby and hoping for slip-ups and disasters.

The first of those is City’s duel with Adelaide this Saturday, with the race for the plate potentially still alive and Adelaide dispatched for the season with a City victory.

The interest in Sunday’s clash between Western United and Sydney FC in Victoria rivals the earlier fixture and should Adelaide manage a point or better against City, United could move temporarily to second by Sunday night off the back of goal difference.

Hiroshi Ibusuki has starred for Western United this season (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

That would place the overworked Sydney FC in the most difficult of positions; potentially trailing Adelaide if the Reds manage even a point against City and facing a tough trip down to Melbourne in the final week of the season to face the latter.

Melbourne Victory cannot afford to visit Sydney and underestimate the Bulls tonight, whilst the Wanderers are in a similar position travelling to the Jets on Saturday, with thousands of fans of the red and black reportedly set to make the trip north.

Whilst the propeller heads will be crunching the numbers as the results of the matches come through and calculating what that means for the final weekend of action, Auckland will almost certainly wrap up the plate with a point or more against Perth.

If not, the journey to Western United in the final round will take on extra significance for both, especially if City remains hot on their heels. Rather brilliantly, the final round begins with a couple of insignificant matches that will clear the slate for the potential madness to follow.

Wellington, Perth, Central Coast and Brisbane will fight for some pride on a meaningless Friday night, the Reds could be watching intently from home if they remain in the race and then the fun begins.

Douglas Costa will be a key man for Sydney FC should they make the finals. (Photo by Steve Christo – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Sydney’s finals hopes could end in Melbourne against City, yet a win would potentially ascend Western United into second, should they manage a result against Auckland on the penultimate day of the season.

The Wanderers face Macarthur that same evening and if the trip to Newcastle has been a successful one seven days earlier, a top two result remains a possibility if either City or Western have wobbled in even the slightest way.

If your head feels like it about to explode, you are not alone and the final home and away match of the season between Victory and Newcastle in Melbourne could potentially reshape the entire top six, depending on all that has come before it.

In one sense, the situation creates a simple, laser-like focus for the coaches and players. Doing the numbers will send you insane, so the simple philosophy of winning the matches that remain does streamline preparations.

The main complication is that numerous top six contenders are meeting each other across both weekends and all of them grabbing the points required is an impossibility. It is sure to be a great watch and the beginning of what looms as arguably the most competitive A-League finals series on record.