The secret to success in Spain for Manchester United and Tottenham this week might be finding a way to raise their game beyond the levels they have shown this season.
Granted, both have displayed unexpected resolve and quality to progress to the Europa League final. [United's](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/manchester-united-fc) comeback against Lyon and the destruction of Athletic Bilbao were impressive. Tottenham's away wins at Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt, when everyone expected them to stumble, were very un-Tottenham.
But domestically, week to week, this has been a season of generational rubbish. They will almost certainly finish 16th and 17th in the Premier League, propped up only by the relegated trio. Between them, they have lost 39 of 74 league assignments, and that tally will surely rise at the weekend.
For one of these clubs, the Europa League trophy will make an appearance this week and the domestic disquiet will be forgotten. For the other, they will fall at the final hurdle in a bid to, if not save their season, then at least salvage something from it.
Tottenham might be seen to have the upper hand, having beaten United on three occasions this season, two of them with [Ruben Amorim](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/ruben-amorim) in the dugout. But then, United have the trophy-winning experience.
How much that counts for is up for debate. Football clubs are inanimate objects after all, but just over a year ago, United were coming to the end of their worst season in years but found a way to save their best for last. Go through the wreckage of that 2023/24 season under Erik ten Hag, and it's the FA Cup final performance at Wembley that stands out by a mile.
The contrast from the humiliating way they won the semi-final, throwing away a three-goal lead against Coventry City, surviving an unbearably tight VAR call to lose 4-3 and then winning on penalties, to the way they outplayed and outthought Manchester City is still stunning to this day.
It was a performance of poise and precision, a day when the game plan worked to perfection and a reminder of the talent within the ranks. It was by some distance Ten Hag's best day in the job.
In fact, it was so good that rather than being his last day in the job, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe had planned, he earned himself another chance. The challenge of lifting this team to performances of that quality on a weekly basis was beyond him, but the squad involved at Wembley agree that it was a triumph for Ten Hag last year.
He got the tone of the build-up right, inspiring players through cleverly thought-out speeches and video presentations, and got his tactics spot on, outwitting Pep Guardiola. Doing the same to Ange Postecoglou might not be the same challenge, but a final is always different for a head coach, and Amorim will have to get the tone right this week.
You would wonder if some of the players had been in Amorim's ear, offering titbits on what Ten Hag got so spectacularly right last May, but then the turnover in the squad is already starting. Of the XI who started the FA Cup final, only Andre Onana and Bruno Fernandes are certain to start in Bilbao.
Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot would have started but for injury, and Alejandro Garnacho is still pushing to retain his place, although a spot on the bench is looking more likely. Kobbie Mainoo has dropped out of the strongest XI, and Raphael Varane, Sofyan Amrabat, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford aren't at the club now.
The four subs who came on, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund, could have their say. Altay Bayindir, Christian Eriksen and Amad were unused replacements.
They will all remember how they managed to lift their levels for a one-off match that was crucial to deciding the fate of the season. It put a gloss on the year and also delivered European qualification.
But for that unexpected and meticulously planned victory, United wouldn't even be in Bilbao. Had they lost that FA Cup final, their eighth-place finish in the Premier League wouldn't have got them into Europe.
So this journey starts back to Ten Hag's perfect week. He will be nowhere to be seen this week and could have no complaints about his sacking, but if United rescue their season again and secure Champions League football, he will have played a part.
How he managed to pull off victory against Manchester City at Wembley could still be instructive as to how Amorim plots the downing of Spurs at San Mames.