Manchester Utd – Real Sociedad

The Spaniards can claw their way to extra time

On Thursday, 13 March, Manchester United will play at home against Real Sociedad. "Devils" will hold actually the key match of the season. The Europa League elimination will deprive the remaining games of a sporting component. Real Sociedad, on the contrary remain motivated both in the championship and in the King's Cup. The first meeting turned out to be relatively equal. Real Sociedad created slightly more dangerous chances, but a draw was the logical outcome. Next, Manchester United also gave their best in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal. At the same time, Ruben Amorim used a rotation It is doubtful that Lindelöf, Eriksen and Casemiro together will come out from the first minutes in a more important European match. Manchester United could at least hold on for a draw against Arsenal. The bad news is the injury to defender Leni Yoro. He was replaced in the match against the Londoners at all by 18-year-old youngster Aiden Heven. The infirmary was full even before Yoro's injury. Lizandro Martinez, Amad Diallo, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Kobi Mainu and rookie Patrick Dorgu are out for long periods of time. Manuel Ugarte and Harry Maguire could return to the field soon. Right now, Manchester United doesn't look close to being favourites to win the Europa League. Bookmakers put the team below Tottenham and Lazio. Real Sociedad can't hold out because of the busy schedule. The team simply does not have enough resources for all tournaments. As a result, the Basques just sprinkled everywhere. Sociedad deservedly lost to Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the King's Cup (0:1), then were defeated by Barcelona and wasted energy on the first match with Manchester United. It is not at all surprising that Sociedad were unable to cope with progressing Sevilla on their home field in the league. The 0-1 defeat puts the Basques out of contention for the top-five. They are definitely not in contention for the Champions League. The Europa League is just seen as a priority tournament for Sociedad. The Basques clearly did not force things in the match against Sevilla: they did not score a goal on xG and had two shots on goal. Manchester United mysteriously lead as clear favourites against the Basques. The team has been in terrible form for months now. The appointment of Ruben Amorim has certainly not sparked progress. Currently, the odds are only 1.45 on MJ going through. This does not look quite fair. Real Sociedad can play in big matches, and recently showed themselves against Real Madrid. It is doubtful that MJ's experimental defence will easily cope with Takefusa Kubo. The Japanese must get on the pitch. Manchester United in the last eight matches beat only Ipswich and Leicester. At the same time, the team has conceded in all meetings since the confrontation with Romanian FCSB back in January.