Real Sociedad vs Manchester United Match Preview and Prediction

By John


 More European football beckons for both Real Sociedad and Manchester United, but there will still be plenty on the line when these two clubs meet in San Sebastián for the first time since 2013, and two seasons after a Bruno Fernandes masterclass in Turin saw United dump Sociedad out of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) in the Round of 32.


After finishing second in each of their last three group stages at this level, Sociedad have a fantastic chance of going one better in this final round courtesy of being the only club in this UEL group stage with maximum points, which included a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. That means they can even settle for a draw in this match to clinch a place in the last 16 of a UEFA event for the first time in nearly 20 years. Surprise La Liga losses to Getafe and Valladolid have not derailed their UEL journey in previous weeks, so falling 2-0 at home to Betis at the weekend should not shake them.


Manchester United again vindicated the declaration of rival boss Pep Guardiola that "they're back" with an eighth consecutive competitive game without defeat (W6, D2), this time a 1-0 Premier League home win against West Ham. They'll have to step their game up even further as they require a 2+ goal margin here to take top place - and with clubs such as Juventus, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid potential contenders for the UEL knockout round playoffs, a pass to the Round of 16 will be golden.


Multiple goal margins have been achieved in just four of their 11 competitive victories this season though, two of which were against Group E minnows Sheriff Tiraspol. To therefore achieve that feat will be a tall order as they face the most impenetrable defence of the entire group stage, but as the only previous UEL title winners to be playing in this edition, the Red Devils' pedigree must not be taken lightly.


Key battle: Sociedad's match-winner in the reverse fixture, Brais Méndez, has a stellar win rate (W6, L1) when finding the net in all competitions this season. His compatriot goalkeeper David de Gea has a score to settle with Sociedad, after Méndez ruined his unbeaten record against Sociedad (W3, D1, L1).


Hot stat: United's aforementioned 4-0 H2H win in Turin in 2020/21 was the only one of five all-time H2H meetings to have produced more than one goal.

Fottennis Prediction: Real Sociedad 1 Manchester United 1

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