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By Joe Rindl, BBC Sport journalist

Many predicted Brentford to go down. Instead, they are on the cusp of European qualification. Over the summer,  Brentford lost their manager, captain and star forward.

But who needs Thomas Frank, Christian Norgaard and Bryan Mbeumo when you have Keith Andrews, Igor Thiago and Dango Ouattara?

The Bees are having one of their best seasons and, with three games to go, are sixth in the Premier League, a spot that could earn them a place in the Champions League.

While the top five looks set, only four points separate Brentford and 12th-placed Sunderland. It seems like there will be more drama between now and the end of the season.

A very specific permutation would allow Brentford—or whoever grabs sixth spot — to sneak into Europe’s premier competition rather than the Europa League.

The Premier League secured an extra Champions League place in April, meaning the top five will qualify for the league stage of next year’s competition. Sixth would also get a team into next season’s Champions League if Aston Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League.

Because of the order in which Champions League berths are decided— European titles are allocated before the Premier League’s additional spot—sixth will not be good enough for the Champions League if Villa win the Europa League and finish in the top four.

Instead, Villa will qualify via their league position, and the place reserved for the Europa League winners will pass to the league champions in qualifying with the best UEFA coefficient. That could be Rangers if they win the Scottish Premiership.

Brentford fans should keep an eye on Villa’s Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest. Villa lost the first leg 1-0, but are at home for the second leg on Thursday. The winners will face Braga or Freiburg in the final on May 20.

Brentford manager Keith Andrews had never been in charge of a club before this season. Asked about his side’s top-six chances, he told BBC Match of the Day: “It’s tight. We’ve had a special season so far, and I want us to continue that. We’ll just keep pushing.”

Despite Newcastle being 13th— six points off Brentford—captain Bruno Guimaraes is still dreaming of continental football. “We are looking up, not down,” he said after his side’s 3-1 win over Brighton on Saturday. “We can still play European football next season. We must win the next three games.”