Manchester United vs Real Sociedad

Old Trafford sets the stage for the return leg of an exciting Europa League last-16 tie between Manchester United and Real Sociedad.

Manchester United’s season has reached a tipping point. Out of both domestic cup competitions and seemingly resigned to a first-ever bottom-half finish in the Premier League era, Ruben Amorim’s charges must go the distance in the Europa League to salvage some pride. A spirited 1-1 home draw against Arsenal at the weekend settled fans’ nerves amid growing protests against the club’s clueless ownership but made it three consecutive matches without winning for Amorim’s underachieving squad (D2, L1). On the bright side, the Red Devils head into proceedings as the only team in the Europa League yet to lose a game this season (W4, D5). Furthermore, they’ve only suffered one defeat across 28 home games in this competition (W21, D6), though that sole failure came against none other than Real Sociedad.

On the other hand, Real Sociedad’s quest to secure European qualification through a top-six finish in La Liga took a hit last weekend as a 1-0 home loss to Sevilla left them out of the qualifying spots. Moreover, it extended their dire run to four consecutive winless outings in all competitions (D1, L3), with each defeat seeing them fail to get on the scoresheet. Turning those fortunes around could be a tall order, considering Imanol Alguacil’s men have lost five of their last six away matches (W1). As if that’s not troubling enough, just one of Sociedad’s four previous UEFA visits to England has yielded victory (D1, L2), highlighting the magnitude of the task awaiting them this midweek.