PARIS — Unai Emery will hope a return to the Europa League this week serves as the spark plug that ignites Aston Villa’s season, while Nottingham Forest embark on their first European campaign in 30 years.

Emery is the most successful manager in Europa League history, winning the title three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, but his Villa side have made a troubled start to the new campaign.

Villa are winless through their first five Premier League games and had failed to even score before Sunday’s 1-1 draw at 10-man Sunderland, which left Emery “frustrated and disappointed”.

“Our start, we’ve not been doing well,” admitted the Spaniard, who also took Arsenal to the Europa League final in 2019.

“There is still work to do; some players are adapting in the squad and our idea, and they will need time.

“Other players were here last year and know how we want to build the team and how we were being successful in the last three years.”

Villa reached the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League before losing 5-4 on aggregate to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

They missed out on qualifying again for Europe’s top club competition on the final day of last season, with this their first appearance in the Europa League main draw since 2008-09.

Villa begin at home to Bologna on Thursday in a repeat of their 2-0 win over the Italians in the Champions League last October.

Bologna have qualified as winners of the Italian Cup, their first major trophy since 1974.

Like Emery, Nottingham Forest’s new boss also knows what it takes to win the Europa League.

Ange Postecoglou, appointed by Forest earlier this month, steered Tottenham to a rare trophy last term as they beat Manchester United in the final.

He is searching for his first win at Forest following two defeats, including an early League Cup exit, and Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Burnley.