Bristol Bears go into their final game of the Gallagher Premiership season with their Champions Cup ambitions still alive.
Pat Lam's side still have all to play for as they travel to face relegated Newcastle, but they will have to rely on a number of other results going their way.
A win at the Falcons is the minimum requirement if the Bears - currently on 47 points - want to reach the top six, with a bonus point obviously being all the better.
Current incumbents Bath (51pts) travel to 11th-placed Leicester Tigers, with Sale (50pts) hosting high-flying Gloucester and Wasps (47pts) facing off against top-six Harlequins.
Although not mathematically secure in fifth, Quins have a far superior points difference to those outside the top six.
The ideal for Pat Lam's men would be a bonus point victory while Bath, Wasps and Sale all slip to defeat. That unlikely turn of events would give them sixth.
Pat Lam tips the Bristol Bears players most likely to play for England
However, the Bears could nip into the Champions Cup via the back door by finishing seventh, but only as long as Sale Sharks finish above them in sixth.
Speaking ahead of the Newcastle match, Pat Lam said: "We can't predict we're going to win, all we can do our best to win and see what happens.
"Sale are guaranteed now because they were semi-finalists so that's the first port of call. If they get into sixth place then seventh becomes available, so it all depends on them. But we can't worry about it."
Nineteen clubs qualify automatically for the 2019/20 Heineken Champions cup - seven from the PRO14 and six from both the Gallagher Premiership and Top 14 in France.
Bristol Bears owner Steve Lansdown wants Pat Lam to be able to build a dynasty
The 20th place in the Heineken Champions Cup will be determined as follows:
- Heineken Champions Cup winner (Saracens), if not already qualified
- Challenge Cup winner (Clermont), if not already qualified
- Challenge Cup losing finalist (La Rochelle), if not already qualified
- Play-off match between the losing Challenge Cup semi-finalists (Harlequins and Sale), if not already qualified
- Highest ranked non-qualified club by virtue of league position from the same league as the Heineken Champions Cup winner
This means that should Sale finish in seventh - the position they currently occupy - then they will qualify as a losing Challenge Cup semi-finalist, with fellow defeated semi-finalists Harlequins and runners-up La Rochelle likely to qualify and Clermont already there in France's top six.
Should Sale finish in the top six and the Bears seventh then the Bristol side would qualify for the Champions Cup as the highest ranked non-qualified club by virtue of league position from the same league as this season's winners Saracens.
It's complicated, but it's possible.
