Man United will lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
Manchester United will face Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday night's Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday night - and it will no doubt be of interest to Jose Mourinho.
The 62-year-old's managerial career has seen him sit in the home dugout at both Old Trafford and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
He won the Europa League with United back in 2017, leading them to a 2-0 win over Ajax, and he went into this season's edition of the competition with the ambition of winning it with Fenerbahce.
United faced the Turkish club in just the third game of their league phase schedule, being held to a 1-1 draw in Istanbul after Christian Eriksen's early goal was wiped out by a Youssef En-Nesyri header just after half-time.
That result meant United had just three points to their name after their first three games, following draws in their opening two outings against FC Twente (1-1) and FC Porto (3-3).
Ahead of the game, Mourinho had dubbed United and Spurs the two "biggest candidates" to win the Europa League, describing their quality as being on a "different level".
Although both clubs have experienced shocking domestic campaigns, they still have a shot at redemption in Bilbao.
"They didn't win and didn't lose," Mourinho said, reviewing United's opening two Europa League matches. "In this format, where everybody tries to figure out what we need and nobody knows, every point you get is a difficult point.
"To play in Porto is not easy. To get a point in Porto is not easy for anybody.
"We also played against Twente, of course the world expects Man United to beat Twente, especially at Old Trafford. One thing is the results Manchester United is having and another thing is the potential of the team.
"The potential of the team is high and I think two draws in the Europa League don't favour us but also doesn't make a huge difference. At the end of the day, this new format will allow the top teams to qualify. No problem for a top team to lose three or four matches out of eight, because then they will win three or four, make 12 points easily and they will qualify.
"I think they are in a stable situation. If I have to say now which are the two biggest candidates to win the Europa League, it's easy: Man United and Tottenham.
"Premier League is a different level of quality, it's a different level of intensity, it's a different level of pace, it's a different level of tactical culture, it's a different level of everything."
Having dubbed United and Spurs as favourites to win the competition, the fact they will meet in the final will come as no great surprise to Mourinho.
The new format has weakened the quality of the Europa League, of that there is no doubt, but both United and Spurs have had to overcome tricky opponents to put themselves on the cusp of European glory.