Manchester United look to continue their good form in their opening Europa League game against Real Sociedad.
Erik ten Hag’s side have started to find their rhythm this season, picking up four wins on the bounce and will hope to extend that run as they begin their Europa League campaign.
Real Sociedad have had a tough start to the season, already facing Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in their first four games.
Advert
Here, UtdDistrict take a look at the form of both teams as they head into their Europa League opener at Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Last five results: L, W, W, W, W
Manchester United endured one of their worst defeats in recent memory at the Brentford Community Stadium, finding themselves four goals down within 35 minutes. An embarrassing defeat that saw individual and collective weaknesses exposed in the first half and a lack of creativity and fight in the second.
Advert
Heading into the game against Liverpool, Erik ten Hag made tweaks to the lineup and strategy that saw United come out with an intensity and quality that many fans hadn’t seen in a while. Two great goals by Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford saw The Red Devils come away as 2-1 victors.
A hard-fought 1-0 win away at Southampton saw United pick up their first win on the road since Leeds United last season. The exact same line up followed up the performance with another win away to Leicester in a more comfortable manner than against The Saints.
Erik ten Hag did make a change ahead of Sunday’s game against Arsenal, bringing in £85 million man Antony for his debut. The Brazilian winger opened the scoring and helped Manchester United reach a 3-1 victory over Mikel Arteta’s men at Old Trafford.
Real Sociedad
Last four results: W, L, W, D,
Advert
Four games into the La Liga season Real Sociedad sit in 9th place with seven points to their name. Their first fixture of the season would see them beat Cadiz 1-0 with ex-Real Madrid youngster Takefusa Kubo scoring on his debut.
La Real then welcomed Barcelona to the Reale Areana, where they were blitzed by a brilliant second half performance from Barcelona who ran out as 4-1 victors.
In the run up to their game against Elche, they lost their star attacker Alexander Isak as he transferred to Newcastle United but it didn’t prevent them from picking up a 1-0 victory on the road.
Advert
Real Sociedad’s most recent game against Atletico Madrid saw Isak’s replacement Umar Sadiq come off the bench to level the scoring on his debut. Sadiq, who made waves for Almeria in the Segunda division last season netting 18 goals and helping his side gain promotion, could be set for his first start for La Real against Manchester United.
Talented youngsters like Takefusa Kubo and Mohamed-Ali Cho and quality midfielders like Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino could cause problems for United. Ex-Manchester City player David Silva is also a threat United fans will be all too familiar with.
The fixture will kick off on Thursday evening at Old Trafford.
Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Europa League
Dominic Akiboye