Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
The second leg of the UEFA Europa League playoffs will be played on Thursday at Old Trafford, where the local Manchester United will host Real Sociedad. I suggest a bet on the outcome of this clash with a good chance of success.
Match preview
This season, the Red Devils are arguably delivering their worst performance in Premier League history – after 27 rounds, they have only 33 points. In this scenario, the team risks not only missing out on the top-6 but failing to reach the upper half of the table altogether. The only chance to save the season is to win the Europa League, and Ruben Amorim is focusing all efforts on this tournament, motivating his players solely for success.
The first meeting ended in a draw (1-1), which suits the Mancunians perfectly as they avoided defeat in Spain. Now, to progress further, the English side just needs to win by any score. An interesting fact: Manchester United is the only club in the Champions League and Europa League that has not yet lost in this European cup season (5 wins and 4 draws). If the team reaches the quarterfinals, it will be their fourth appearance at this stage in the Europa League over the past five years.
The Basques put themselves in a difficult situation by missing out on a win in the first leg at home. Furthermore, their winless streak in the Europa League has now reached four consecutive matches, which certainly does not add confidence before traveling to England. The only chance to reach the quarterfinals is to win away, as the last time they conquered this stage of European competition was 35 years ago. In case of a draw in regular time, the match will smoothly transition into overtime.
However, in European competitions, the team shows decent results – in the last seven Europa League matches, they have only one defeat (5 wins, 1 draw). However, away from home, the San Sebastián side looks far less convincing – in their last six away matches in La Liga and the Europa League, they suffered five defeats, managing to overcome only Midtjylland. With such away performance, securing a quarterfinal spot will be incredibly challenging.
Probable lineups
- Manchester United: Andre Onana – Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui – Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Patrick Dorgu, Bruno Fernandes – Joshua Zirkzee, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Højlund
- Real Sociedad: Alejandro Remiro – Aritz Elustondo, Nayef Aguerd, Aihen Muñoz, Igor Zubeldia – Brais Méndez, Luka Sučić, Beñat Turrientes – Takefusa Kubo, Ander Barrenetxea, Mikel Oyarzabal
Match facts and head-to-head
- The Spaniards have played seven matches against MU in European competitions and have managed only one victory, losing three times
- In the last 4 matches between these opponents, the "Total under 2.5" bet played out
- The "Both teams to score" bet hit in only one out of five matches
Prediction
Bookmakers are siding with Manchester United, offering odds of 1.95 for a home win. We suggest taking the "Manchester United win" here.
