Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur begin Europa League campaigns this week, eager to put disappointing Premier League starts behind them.
Erik ten Hag's United have struggled to rebound from last season's woes, currently sitting outside the top 10 with only seven points from five matches.
The Dutchman narrowly retained his job despite leading the Red Devils to their worst-ever Premier League finish – eighth – last season, with an FA Cup final upset over Manchester City providing a lifeline.
United spent heavily in the transfer market, but the expected improvement on the pitch has yet to materialize ahead of their Europa League opener at home against Twente on Wednesday.
A scoreless draw at Crystal Palace last weekend dampened some of the optimism generated by a 3-0 win over Southampton and a League Cup thrashing of Barnsley. However, Ten Hag remains confident in his team's progress.
"The performance is good, but we are not happy with the score. We are disappointed with the score, it’s clear," he said after the draw at Selhurst Park.
"But I know one thing for sure in football – it’s a long way to go, and when you play with the quality we’re now delivering, the points will come, the goals will come. Now we can work on the team, build structures, and bring some consistency in selection. That helps bring the patterns and routines in, and then you play better."
United are back in the revamped Europa League after a disastrous Champions League campaign last season, where the three-time European champions finished bottom of their group.
Anything less than a victory against Dutch club Twente, returning to the competition for the first time since 2012, in the first of their eight league-phase matches would pile pressure on Ten Hag and his squad.
Spurs seek solace
Discontent has also started to grow among Tottenham fans for the first time since their strong start under Ange Postecoglou 12 months ago.
A 3-1 victory over Brentford last weekend at least helped them bounce back from successive Premier League defeats against Newcastle and local rivals Arsenal.
However, Spurs are desperate to end their 17-year wait for a major trophy and will view the new Europa League – which will no longer feature teams dropping down from the Champions League – as a golden opportunity.
They host Azerbaijani club Qarabag on Thursday.
"I keep saying to people, ‘Show me a success story, and I’ll show you a struggle.’ People forget the struggle and only focus on the end result," Postecoglou said last week.
Elsewhere, crisis-hit Roma welcome Athletic Bilbao to Stadio Olimpico, hoping to continue their recent European success.
The Serie A club has reached at least the Europa League semifinals in three of the past four seasons, with the exception being their 2022 Conference League triumph under José Mourinho.
However, Roma supporters were left furious by the sacking of coach Daniele De Rossi, expressing their anger toward management and players they consider responsible during Sunday’s win over Udinese.
The backlash from De Rossi's dismissal has been so intense that CEO Lina Souloukou, who resigned on Saturday morning, has been placed under police protection following online threats against her and her family.
A banner hung outside Roma's Trigoria training ground described Greek national Souloukou, who was previously CEO of Olympiakos, as "evil."
Other Europa League fixtures include 2022 winners Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Viktoria Plzen, while four-time European champions Ajax face Beşiktaş in Amsterdam.