Hertha Berlin travel to FK Ventspils on Thursday looking to kick-start their season.
The Bundesliga side have won only once since August 8 and that was in the UEFA Europa League against Heerenveen last month.
Their league form, apart from an opening day win over Eintracht Frankfurt, has been extremely disappointing with just five points from 14 matches so far.
However, they could move to seven points in five European games with a win in Riga and, by doing so, book their place in the last 32 of the competition.
More importantly, a win could have a knock-on effect for the final three Bundesliga matches of the calendar year, which is why coach Friedhelm Funkel is taking this game very seriously.
"If course the Bundesliga is our priority at the moment, but we would also like to take the chance to keep playing in Europe," he said.
"A win in the Europa League could give us a bit more self-confidence."
That was not the case after their one and only victory in the competition this year last month when they won 3-2 at Heerenveen.
They followed up that win with two defeats at home and one draw away in the Bundesliga, which they would probably accept from their next three league matches against Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich - all clubs currently placed in the top four in the league.
To make matters worse for the side from the German capital, their captain Arne Friedrich misses the trip to Latvia due to a groin strain which also jeopardises his involvement in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday.
The Latvian season ended in November and Ventspils, who finished runners-up behind Liepajas Metalurgs for the first time in four years, have only played since in the Europa League, including their shock 1-1 draw at Sporting Lisbon early last month.
"I am very proud of my players and this result," said their Italian coach Nunzio Zavettieri after that game.
"I think it was fair and it was an excellent experience for my team."
Ventspils secured the same result at Berlin in the first match of the group stage and that result had Zavettieri doubting whether Hertha had actually taken them seriously.
That should not be the case on Thursday night, though, as Hertha look to breathe some much-needed life into their season with a rare win which could take them through to the knockout stage.
For that to happen on the night, Heerenveen would have to lose to group leaders Sporting Lisbon.
