There are any number of possibilities that can happen for Aston Villa. Safe to say, a loss by Manchester City against AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday would do a world of good for the nerves of AVFC supporters.
It may be foolish to dream, but Pep Guardiola's side dropping the result against the Cherries should not be immediately dismissed out of hand. For one, MCFC will have just come off an FA Cup final fixture. As is, the reigning Premier League champions have not looked as sharp nor have they been as consistent compared to past seasons.
The pressure will naturally be on them. Although Bournemouth will not have anything directly to play for, expect Andoni Iraola's men to still put up a fight. Even so, there's an outside chance of still making Conference League, depending on what happens with Chelsea.
Either way, the Cherries will look to repeat their earlier efforts that saw them beat Man City in November.
Playing at the Etihad and winning earlier at the Vitality Stadium are two different scenarios, however. Still, Villa will have their eyes glued to the match between the two sides, hoping to see a little late-season luck go their way.
Regardless of what happens there or anywhere else throughout the EPL, the Villans need to win against Manchester United. A spot in Europe is secured either way, but the ambition of playing in Champions League is very much alive.
A little help from Bournemouth would allow for the final fixture of the year to leave Villa's European fate entirely in their hands.
A lot to play for during final Aston Villa matches
While not the most likely scenario, considering the misfortune and overall poor decisions and moments that have worked against Villa all season long, it would be nice to see something outside of their control go in their favor.
At the end of the day, this is what fans want. Villa is in the middle of a tight race and are being competitive down the stretch for one of the coveted spots. While many among the fan base disagree about the best path forward in terms of Europa League vs. Champions League, it does show a lot that the club is even in a legitimate position to have that debate.