For Manchester United, the journey to a second Europa League title in four years begins with a neutral site round of 32 tie against Real Sociedad. This was supposed to be the road leg of the tie, but it had to be moved to Juventus’ home, Allianz Arena, due to precautions and travel restrictions related to covid-19 situation.
Several key players will be out for this one, as they are either injured, and/or slated to take a rest. So let’s look at who could be selected by manager Ole Gunnar Solskajer for the first team in this one.
Manchester United vs Real Sociedad UEL Round of 32 FYIs
Kickoff: Feb 18, 5:55pm, Allianz Arena, Turin, Italy
Manchester United Team News: go here
Key Stat: United are winless in their last 9 matches (D3 L6) against Spanish opponents
Series History: Manchester United win 1, Draw 1, Real Sociedad win 0
Odds: Manchester United win +116, Draw +225, Real Sociedad win +225
This is as good a chance as any for Amad Diallo to make his first senior team appearance with United and we’re slotting the transfer window acquisition into the first team here.
Elsewhere, Juan Mata has been frozen out/made persona non grata for some inexplicable reason, but given the team news in midfield, this is a great opportunity for him to play.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Real Sociedad (Europa League Round of 32)
Dean Henderson; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Harry Maguire, Alex Telles; Fred, Nemanja Matic; Juan Mata Amad Diallo, Mason Greenwood; Anthony Martial
Prediction: Manchester United 2, Real Sociedad 1
At some point, United will have to break their recent Spanish hex. There is no time like the present.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.