Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham side face a pivotal week as they bid to end such a frustrating season on a high. Currently 14th in the Premier League table and eight points adrift of the top half, all eyes are on how Spurs fare in the Europa League.
The north London club are five games away from European glory, with the first of those coming on Thursday evening at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. The second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie will then take place in Germany seven days later.
Postecoglou is under such intense pressure right now and his job at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium may all come down to whether Spurs triumph in Bilbao come May or not. Spurs were the previous favourites to win the competition but Athletic Club and Manchester United have since jumped ahead of them in terms of the bookmakers' odds.
It certainly will not be straightforward for Tottenham if they are to get their hands on the Europa League as they face a crunch quarter-final showdown against Eintracht Frankfurt. So what exactly are the best and worst routes to the final for Spurs? football.london takes a look below.
Worst route to glory
Spurs know that if they progress beyond Eintracht Frankfurt then they will play either Lazio or Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals. The Italian side are red-hot favourites to knock out their Norwegian counterparts and it would be a shock if Marco Baroni's side were to be eliminated at the quarter-final stage.
It was Lazio who came out on top in the newly-formed league phase table after winning six of their eight games. Their only defeat came against Braga after they had already qualified for the knockout stage of the competition.
Lazio did claim some notable victories in the league phase after hitting Nice for four, securing home wins over Porto and Real Sociedad and beating Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam. It's not just the Europa League they have performed well in, though, as they are sixth in Serie A and only three points off Atalanta in third heading into the business end of the campaign.
If Spurs do overcome Eintracht Frankfurt and then Lazio in the semis to reach the final, Athletic Club would be the nightmare team to come up against. Not only is the final at their San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, they have enjoyed a really strong European campaign to date and they are also fourth in La Liga and on course for a place in next season's Champions League.
Ernesto Valverde's side also boast some excellent players, most notably Spain Euro 2024 winner Nico Williams. The attacker looks set to depart for one of Europe's top clubs sooner rather than later and he will want to go out in style in the Europa League if he is to bid farewell to his current club in the summer.
Best route to glory
Bodo/Glimt would be ideal opponents in the semi-finals if Tottenham are to reach the final four. The Norwegian side were incredibly unlucky to miss out on a top-eight finish in the league phase table as Rangers pipped them to the final spot on goal difference.
They did then get the better of Twente in the knockout phase play-offs following a remarkable second leg tie that saw the game go to extra time following three goals in stoppage time. Bodo/Glimt added two further goals to win 5-2 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate, before then beating Olympiacos 4-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.
The Norwegian club have recorded some eye-catching results this campaign and they should not be underestimated at all if Tottenham are to come up against them. In terms of an ideal final opponent, many will see Rangers as the dream ticket.
The sides have already faced each other this season after playing out a 1-1 draw at Ibrox at the start of December, with Spurs needing a late Dejan Kulusevski goal to register a point in Glasgow. Rangers, who are now under the guidance of Barry Ferguson, put Fenerbahce to the sword in the round of 16 but their form under the club legend has been so up and down in the Scottish Premiership.
The Gers lost 2-0 at home to Hibs last weekend and in their previous match they needed three goals in the final 15 minutes to win 4-3 at Dundee after initially trailing 3-1.
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