Aston Villa have been installed as the favourites to win the Europa League this season, and could follow Tottenham in ending a trophy drought while they’re at it.

While those are only bookmakers’ odds, the fact that Unai Emery has won the competition four times before - including three successive triumphs with Sevilla - puts the club in a strong position to go deep into the knockout rounds.

For Spurs, that final in Bilbao against Manchester United was an all-or-nothing game. Even after winning it and finally claiming silverware, Ange Postecoglou was sacked - though he could hardly have argued his case, given the club’s terrible league form.

The now-former Nottingham Forest boss claimed that he prioritised the Europa League after the turn of the year, knowing that only by winning a trophy could he take the club to another level.

“I think when we got to the end of January, the end of the transfer window, and assessed our situation, I just made a decision there and then that this was the trophy we were going to go...