Manchester United fans may feel as though Europe is slipping away from the once more - in a sight they have become far too accustomed to in the last few years.
Erik Ten Hags side currently sit sixth in the league, 11 points adrift from both fourth-place Tottenham and fifth-place Aston Villa.
The ever growing task to of trying to catch up to their competition is becoming more and more of an uphill battle.
United have failed to win a game in their last three in the league and with seven games left to play a top four finish is fading into the distance.
Although a top-four finish looks well and truly off the cards, United could still miraculously qualify for the Champions League, even if they finish sixth thanks to a UEFA rule change.
Thanks to a new rule introduced by UEFA this year, England are poised to receive an additional spot in next year's Champions League.
Due to the expansion of the Champions League two leagues will earn an extra place in Europe's top club competition.
The new rule change states that the two leagues with the best UEFA co-efficient will earn an extra slot in the competiton.
As it stands England and Italy are set to earn the two spots.
This means that the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League is set to qualify for the Champions League - but as it stands this will likely benefit either Tottenham or Aston Villa.
However, there is still a narrow chance that Man United could qualify for the Champions League, even if they miss out on fifth-place and finish sixth.
In order for this to happen though, a lot has to go their way. Here is how the rest of the season would have to unfold.
United's Champions League fate lies largely in the hands of former manager David Moyes and his current side West Ham.
If West Ham manage to clinch fifth place and also win the Europa League, with United finishing sixth, Ten Hags men would be poised to play in the Champions League next season.
David Moyes' side currently sit 12 points behind fifth-place Villa and are one point behind United in seventh.
The Hammers face no easy task if they are to win the Europa League and finish in fifth, although if they were to complete the feat, it would free up another Champions League spot for an English club.
As the additional place only applies to a domestic league finish and it does not account for Champions league or Europa League winners.
This means that theoretically, if the winners of both the Champions League and Europa League are English clubs that end the season outside of the top four in the Premier League, a seventh place finish for United would be enough to see them qualify for next year's European tournament.
However this won't be possible this season as Mancehster City and Arsenal, the two remaining teams in the Champions League are all but guaranteed a top four spot.
However a sixth place finish would suffice.
A lot would need to go in United favour however as both United and the Hammers would have to leapfrog either Villa or Spurs in the League and David Moyes side would have to fend off stiff competition from League rivals Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League.
West Ham face Bayer in their Europa League quarter-final clash. Xabi Alonso's side will be a tough opponent for the Hammers as they are unbeaten in all competitions this year so far.