UEFA Europa League: Manchester United vs. Real Sociedad Preview, Odds, Prediction

Manchester United and Real Sociedad meet again in the Europa League. The two sides met in the previous edition, and they will now, which raises certain interest among the fans and the football community. United is flying high following the recent results. Erik Ten Haag’s combinations finally gave some results, and the Red Devils are good for the moment. Sociedad is playing hot and cold, and they don’t have any consistency. Truth be told, their schedule was a bit tougher, meeting Barcelona and Atletico in the opening rounds.

By the way here are our UEFA Champions League Previews and picks here.

Preview

Manchester United (-166) won the last four games, two of them against top contenders for the high positions in the Premiership. It all started against Liverpool, whom the Red Devils defeated at home, 2-1. After that, they were better on the road in Southampton and Leicester, 0-1, extending the streak.

The confirmation of a great form came against Arsenal this Sunday afternoon. Manchester was better than the Gunners at Old Trafford, winning 3-1. Anthony, who only recently arrived from Ajax, scored on his debut, announcing his stepping on the big stage.

The Red Devils are extra strong in the back line without Maguire, and Ten Hag’s decision to leave him on the bench was right. Also, Cristiano isn’t a starter anymore, and we’ll see how that unfolds.

Real Sociedad (+475) has two wins, a draw, and a loss in the four opening La Liga rounds. The negative circumstance for the team from San Sebastian was the fact that they hosted Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in both of their home events. Barca smashed them, 1-4, while Atletico went away with a point in its bag, 1-1.

The two road trips were successful for Sociedad. In both, they were better than the rivals with a minimal result, 0-1, against Elche and Cadiz. This unit knows how to slow down the tempo on the field and impose its own style.

There are a lot of experienced players in Real, like David Villa and Asier Illarramendi, but also, a few of those whose prime is yet to come, like Sorloth, Oyrazabal etc.

Latest News

Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, Facundo Pelliestri, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Brandon Williams are injured for the home unit.

Oyrazabal might be out for the guests, while Fernandez, Rico, and Merquelanz are for sure unavailable.

Head to Head Games

In the last year’s group stage, we saw two meetings between United and Real Sociedad. The first was in Spain, where Red Devils rolled over the rivals, trashing them with 0-4. The following event, which was at Old Trafford, saw no goals.

Prediction

Manchester is in excellent shape, and despite all the experience and solid quality, we think Sociedad can’t escape a defeat on Thursday night. The atmosphere in United’s locker room is superb, and the momentum is simply too big to be stopped now. Real might be good on the road in the domestic championship, but this is a different level and experience. Due to that, our pick here is Manchester United to win, with the current odds set at -166, and that is just fine for us.

Pick: United wins -166