Manchester United take on the visitors Real Sociedad in the second leg of UEFA Europa League round of 1/8-finals. First leg result: 1-1. The match will be played on Thursday, March 13th at Old Trafford (Manchester).
Manchester United were far from satisfied a year ago. The team crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage, finishing dead last in their quartet. On top of that, they slumped to eighth place in the Premier League—a disastrous campaign by their standards. However, even in that troubled season, they managed to win the FA Cup, defeating Manchester City in the final. This year, they have already relinquished that title, starting the spring with a penalty shootout loss to Fulham. Additionally, under new manager Rúben Amorim—who was initially seen as the savior after Erik ten Hag’s disastrous autumn—United exited the EFL Cup early and have been setting unwanted records in the Premier League. The Europa League has been the only bright spot, where they have strung together a series of wins and advanced directly to the Round of 16. Despite their struggles, United has been strong at home, winning four of their last five matches at Old Trafford.
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Real Sociedad aims for more success this year. The "Txuri-Urdin" have been playing under Imanol Alguacil for several years now. A product of the club himself, Alguacil began his managerial career in his hometown of San Sebastián and has led the team to notable achievements. Under his guidance, Sociedad finally won the Copa del Rey again, secured a fourth-place finish in La Liga, and played in the Champions League knockout stage last season. Repeating even last year’s sixth-place league finish will be difficult this time, as their domestic form has been inconsistent. They did reach the Copa del Rey semifinals, but after losing the first leg at home to Real Madrid, their chances of reaching the final are slim. That left the Europa League as their best shot at silverware, and despite some struggles in the group stage, they advanced to the knockout rounds, where they confidently eliminated Midtjylland with two wins in February. At home against United, they managed to hold on for a draw—not a bad result, but now they must avoid defeat on the road, where they have won just one of their last four away games.
This will be the fourth meeting between these clubs. In the 2013 Champions League group stage and the 2021 Europa League knockout rounds, Manchester United won the first leg before drawing the second. In the 2022 Champions League, the teams exchanged 1-0 away victories. United is out of form, and the visitors will look to take full advantage of that—expect both teams to find the net.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
