For the first time two Irish clubs will compete in an outright European competition as Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers begin their UEFA Conference League campaigns tonight having come through qualifying.
Here is all you need to know about the games.
TV
Shelbourne v Hacken will be live on Premier Sport 1 and TNT Sports 6. Sparta Prague v Shamrock Rovers will be on TNT Sports 5.
ONLINE
There will be a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app with updates from both matches
DUBLIN TO PRAGUE
Shels have the honour of being at 'home' for their first match.
The Reds' home matches will be played in Tallaght Stadium due to Tolka Park's limited capacity and facilities.
Despite the inconvenience, several thousand supporters will journey to Dublin 24 for the first of three home matches.
Swedish side Hacken are the opponents in a game which offers Joey O'Brien's men a realistic chance of getting points.
The Hoops are in Prague for a considerably tougher task.
Now becoming veterans of the European scene, Stephen Bradley's side took on Sparta last year in the Champions League and shipped six goals over two legs.
The Hoops were excellent in the away leg against against a classy Prague side despite the loss.
They get a second chance tonight. Around 900 fans have travelled to Czech Republic from Dublin and they'll certainly be making themselves heard at the 18,000 capacity Letna Stadium.
DIFFERING DRAWS AND EXPECTATIONS
Shamrock Rovers were in Pot 2 for the draw, while Shels were one of the weakest sides in the entire competition seeding-wise in Pot 6.
Despite that, it was the Hoops who were handed the more difficult draw.
They also have a tough encounter away to AEK Athens and a home clash with Shakhtar Donetsk as part of their six games. Slovenian side Celje in Tallaght will also be tricky.
These games, along with Prague, are the first four matches for the Hoops before Breidablik (a) and Hamrun Spartans (h) offer easier opportunities for points.
The most realistic qualification path for the Hoops is to win their final two matches, perhaps repeat their brilliant performances against Celje last year and try to upset the odds early on.
To do it in Prague is big ask.
The home side have dropped just five points from their first 10 matches of the season.
Last year brought some uncertainty in their league, as despite reaching the Champions League, they ended up in fourth place.
International quality is shining through for Sparta.
Albion Rrahmani has scored six goals for Kosovo in just 19 matches, Veljko Birmancevic featured for Serbia against England last month and Kaan Kairinen is proving a quality player for Finland.
Given Shamrock Rovers have been so good at home and in qualifying, they may relish the test of their progress here.
HACKEN THROUGH THE DOOR
Shelbourne have broken through one barrier to reach the league phase for the first time. Now it's a question of if they can go further in the competition.
Their start is crucial. Hacken, who are struggling in the Swedish league at the moment, come to Dublin targeting the points.
A trip to North Macedonia will follow for Shels and Kosovan side Drita then come to Dublin.
AK Alkmaar (a), Crystal Palace (h) and Celje (a) will be a step up from those teams later in the year.
The onus is on Shels to start brightly.
While their league position of tenth may indicate all is not right in their camp, European form has been completely different.
Hacken defeated three good teams to reach this stage, knocking out Spartak Trnava, Anderlecht and CFR Cluj.
They've been on this island before, going down to Cork City in the Europe League qualifiers just under a decade ago.
Hacken have a mix of Scandinavian players in defence and midfield but have more of an international flavour up front.
Severin Nioule (Ivory Coast), Amor Layouni (Tunisia), John Dembe (Uganda) and Danilo Al Saed (Iraq) are all part of their forward options.
WHAT THEY SAY
Stephen Bradley is expecting a mix of old and new from Sparta Prague, with Danish coach Brian Priske taking over since their last meeting: "Sparta are still very similar in terms of their personnel. Their actual system is still the same, but there are definitely different changes in how they're trying to do things within that system. That’s quite normal when a new manager comes in.
"So they’ve changed little bits in their system, but overall, it’s a very similar personnel and team who we’re playing.
"The pleasing thing is we know exactly what we’re facing in terms of players, also the environment regarding the stadium and everything that goes with that."
Joey O'Brien is excited by a noteworthy moment in the history of Shelbourne as they play their first-ever league phase game.
The former Ireland international said: "It's not about just about being happy to here and then rollover and get beaten in these games. It's about going out and performing and getting points.
"Tonight is a big opportunity for us. That's the way it will be from the first game to the last game. It's about going out to win.
"It's going to be a great night for the football club, but as I said, that's stuff in the background. We need to take care of the business and that's what happens at 8pm. That is the most important thing."
TEAM NEWS
A significant defensive absence due to injury for each side.
Sam Bone is out for Shelbourne as well as long-term injury Conor Kearns.
Lee Grace is unavailable for Shamrock Rovers. Connor Malley is back in the group and Max Kovalevskis has also returned to training.
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