Mulgrew, Arsenal and Ricky Villa - Linfield, Glentoran and Coleraine in Europe

The new season curtain-raisers may be taking place slightly later than we are used to, but the Irish League's club are back in Europe on Tuesday and Thursday night.

After their victory over Tre Fiori and bye against Drita, David Healy's Linfield take on Legia Warsaw in the Champions League qualifying, a game you can see live on the BBC Sport website.

It is the turn of Glentoran and Coleraine on Thursday in the Europa League, against HB Torshavin and La Fiorita, and once more those games will be streamed live on the BBC.

In the build-up to the trio of European fixtures, Northern Ireland stats guru Marshall Gillespie looks at the past fortunes of Linfield, Glentoran and Coleraine.

Linfield

Linfield will face Polish opposition for the first time in their history when they take on Legia Warsaw in the Champions League qualifier on Thursday.

The Blues have played clubs from a total of 34 different countries since their European adventure began 61 years ago, which began with a Jackie Milburn-inspired 2-1 win over Swedish side IFK Gothenburg 2-1 at Windsor Park.

In total, the Blues have been paired against Norwegian clubs on seven occasions, while they have faced teams from the Faroe Islands no fewer than five times, all inside the last eight seasons.

Linfield skipper Jamie Mulgrew is the club's record appearance holder in European competition after playing his 37th game in the 2-0 semi-final play-off win over Tre Fiori earlier in August.

Jamie Mulgrew holds the club's record for appearances while trips to Norway and the Faroe Islands have been commonplace for the Blues

The 34-year-old, who has now clocked up 590 appearances for the Blues, made his debut in Europe as an 84th-minute substitute for Tim Mouncey in a 4-2 Europa League defeat at Windsor Park to Swedish side Halmstad BK in 2005.

Current boss David Healy is only the 12th person to manage a Linfield team in Europe and although Tuesday will be his 17th European match at the helm for the Blues, the former Northern Ireland striker has a long way to go to match David Jeffrey's record 36 games in charge.

The club's 118 European goals have been scored by a total of 61 players, with current striker Andrew Waterworth topping the Blues' scoring chart with seven, with five of those goals coming away from Windsor Park.

If David Healy's men, who came so close to the group stages of the Europa League last season, find the net against Legia Warsaw then it will be the first time in their history that the south Belfast club will have scored in eight consecutive European matches.

Glentoran

The Glens' first taste of European football at the Oval back in 1962 ended in defeat when they were beaten 2-0 by Real Zaragoza in the first-leg of their first-round contest in the old Fairs Cup and Thursday's tie with HB Torshavin will be their 50th at the east Belfast venue.

It was seven years before Glentoran actually celebrated a European victory on home soil, when Ian Henderson's second-minute penalty gave them an unlikely 1-0 success over Arsenal in the opening round of the Fairs Cup.

That win over the Gunners' though is one of just nine that the Glens' have enjoyed in 49 attempts at their Belfast headquarters, their last coming in July 2011 when they defeated Macedonian side FK Renova 2-1 thanks to goals from Richard Clarke and Martin Murray.

A total of 241 players have represented the Glens in UEFA competitions, with defender Colin Nixon making the most appearances with an impressive 27 over a period of 13 years.

Colin Nixon, Paul Leeman and Elliott Morris lead the way for the Glens

The top five players with the most European games for the Oval outfit are: Colin Nixon (27), Paul Leeman (25), Elliott Morris (24), Barney Bowers (23) and Billy McCullough (22).

When Mick McDermott's side take the field against their Faroese opposition, he will become the 18th manager to oversee the club's fortunes in Europe, though he still has a long way to go to match Roy Coyle's record 18 games in charge of the club in UEFA competitions.

During his nine years at the helm in east Belfast, Coyle brought unparalleled success to the club domestically, however, of the 18 matches he presided over against continental opposition the Glens managed just a solitary victory and suffered a total of 15 defeats.

So can a resurgent Glentoran mark their 99th European tie with a victory? History would suggest not, as they won just ten of those encounters and lost an incredible 65.

Coleraine

The Bannsiders first won a two-legged encounter in Europe at only their second attempt when they beat Jeunesse Esch from Luxembourg 6-3 on aggregate in the first round of the Fairs Cup back in 1969.

In the same competition the following season, they ousted Scottish side Kilmarnock 4-3 on aggregate after Dessie Dickson scored a memorable hat-trick as Coleraine won 3-2 at Rugby Park, which to this day remains their only ever victory away from home against foreign opposition and the forward's treble is one of only two to be scored by an Irish League player in Europe.

Overall, Coleraine have played exactly 40 games in Europe since their first against Dynamo Kiev in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. Victories have been a fare commodity though with only four been recorded, their last being a 2-1 Europa League success over Portuguese side UD Leiria at the Showgrounds in August 2003.

Of the 123 players that have turned out for the club in Europe over the past 55 years, striker Dessie Dickson has accumulated the most appearances clocking up a total of 16 over a period of 13 years.

Dessie Dickson made 16 European appearance's for the Bannsiders

Of the 27 players that have found the net for Coleraine in Europe it is perhaps no surprise that Dickson tops that particular all-time list too having hit seven of the club's 41 goals.

When Coleraine drew FA Cup winner's Spurs in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1982, a record attendance of 12,000 spectators crammed into the Showgrounds to see a star-studded side that included Garth Crooks, Ray Clemence and 1978 Argentinian World Cup winner Ricky Villa. They may have lost the home leg 3-0 and the subsequent return game 4-0 at White Hart Lane, but it is an occasion that no Coleraine fan will ever forget.

Bertie Peacock is the club's most successful manager when it comes to European competition as in his ten games in charge he twice guided Coleraine into the second round of the Fairs Cup, following successes over Jeunesse Esch and Kilmarnock respectively.

Coleraine's opponents, La Fiorita, are no strangers to Northern Irish opposition. In 2017 they were drawn against Linfield in the first qualifying round of the Champions League losing just 1-0 on aggregate over the two legs - so Oran Kearney's men beware!