Explained: Aston Villa and the Champions League - what needs to happen during crunch Premier League finale

Unai Emery’s team have topped the Premier League form table since the start of March, winning nine of their last 11 top flight matches.

But they will head to Old Trafford on the final day of a season which has stretched to 57 games in all competitions still needing help from elsewhere if they are to qualify for the Champions League for the second season running.

They are one of five teams battling for the three remaining spaces and could still end up playing in any three of Europe’s club competitions next season, depending on how final day results pan out.

Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday night saw Villa slip to sixth in the table and the one certainty for Emery’s men, who are level on points with Chelsea and Newcastle but with a significantly inferior goal difference, is they cannot afford to lose to United.

Victory, at a venue where they have won only twice since 1983, clearly gives them the best chance of realising their Champions League dream and would, at the very least, secure sixth place and a spot in next season’s Europa League.

Should Villa claim three points at Old Trafford, they would finish in the top five if either Chelsea fail to win at Nottingham Forest, Newcastle fail to beat Everton at home, or if Manchester City lose at Fulham.

A draw would also be enough if Newcastle were to lose against the Toffees, who have been much improved during the second half of the season under David Moyes.

Were Villa to lose, Forest would need only a point to move above them in the table to claim sixth and the Europa League spot, leaving Emery’s men in seventh and facing a return to the Conference League.

Writing in the programme ahead of last week’s win over Tottenham, Emery insisted Villa would feel “joy” regardless of which competition they are playing in next season, words which were repeated by director of football operations Damian Vidagany during Wednesday night’s end of season awards.

But with prize money in the Europa League only a quarter of that in the Champions League and the riches in the Conference League even fewer, it is clear which outcome would bring Villa the most pleasure come Sunday night.