It's a make-or-break week for Manchester United. Fall to Real Sociedad over two legs in their Europa League last-16 tie and their season will be over by mid-March, and the campaign will limp to a miserable and entirely forgettable end.
Win against the La Liga side and possibilities will remain. That will set up a quarter-final tie against Lyon or FCSB, and the final in Bilbao will feel within reach. That would put an unexpected gloss on this season, but it would also provide a significant boost in qualification to Europe for next term.
A Champions League place is on offer for the winners of the Europa League and after United's FA Cup exit on Sunday, that is now the only route back into continental competition for them this season. A competition that was the priority a week ago is now do or die for Ruben Amorim's side.
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Putting a run together in Europe will have its advantages this season. It could boost confidence within a fragile-looking squad, give the fans something to enjoy in the final months of the season and offer some nights to remember at Old Trafford and abroad. But combine recent performances with an untimely injury record, and it's clear they are up against it, probably even against a Sociedad side are ninth in La Liga, albeit it is a congested table from sixth downwards.
This United squad aren't just fighting to keep this season alive in San Sebastian and Manchester over the next week, however. You could make a strong argument that they are fighting to keep next season alive.
In doing so, they might be sealing their own fate in some way, but the limitations of this squad in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system have been laid bare over the last few months. It's clear significant surgery is required to give Amorim a chance to fight for European qualification through the Premier League next season.
The 40-year-old stated his desire to win the Premier League at the weekend and was accused of naivety by Wayne Rooney for doing so. Ineos have launched Mission 21 to try and bring a 21st league title to Old Trafford by the time the club celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2028.
Those ambitions will look almost impossible if United goes into next season without European football, a situation that will be damaging financially and reputationally. Putting together a title-winning squad looks like a task that will cost hundreds of millions.
United continue to walk a financial tightrope, as Ineos has made a host of savage costs and redundancies abundantly clear. They remain close to the Premier League limits in the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), have lost money for five successive years and more than £300m in the last three years.
Strip away the £120m+ that European football offers, and it's clear there will be a black hole in the budget for next season. The sizeable broadcast revenue on offer in the Champions League will disappear, as will the prize money and a guarantee of another four Old Trafford games, at the very least. With each home fixture worth around £3million, the maths is beginning to make for grim reading.
Amorim has tried to cool expectations around the Europa League this week, insisting that the bigger picture is far more important than winning a trophy this season, but the carrot of Champions League qualification cannot be ignored.
The former Sporting head coach needs that trophy to accelerate his own squad building plans, otherwise this summer proimises to be an extremely difficult one, with United forced into some difficult decisions over sales to try and refresh the squad and bring in specialists for Amorim's system.
Then there is the attraction of being in the Champions League. Right now, players will be thinking twice about signing for United. Go into next season without European football and with little transfer budget to speak of, and a long-term project of returning to glory begins to slip further into the distance. Players will be reluctant to sign up to that and miss out on Champions League football.
So over the next two weeks, there is plenty riding on two games against Real Sociedad. United need to throw everything at winning the Europa League, for this season and the next.
