The Europa League group stages reach their climax on Thursday evening with Manchester United travelling to Spain to lock horns with Real Sociedad.
Under Erik ten Hag, United have made massive strides of late. They are unbeaten in their past eight matches in all competitions and producing a more exciting brand of football.
But as far as Sociedad are concerned, they have endured a mini-slump, slipping to defeat in two of their past three games, but they remain fifth in La Liga.
More worryingly for them, an injury crisis is brewing, and they could be bereft of up to seven players for the visit of United. That is likely to include the mercurial David Silva, who had many battles with United during his time at Manchester City.
For United, they still have an outside chance of qualifying for the last 16 as group winners, and this is a winner-takes-all style of clash. To whet your appetite for this game, we have handpicked a couple of juicy tips for you to tuck into.
Manchester United to exact revenge
If we wind back to September, United got off to an inauspicious start in the Europa League as they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Sociedad in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, with a Brais Mendez penalty separating the two sides.
Since then, United haven’t put a foot wrong. But as mentioned, top spot is up for grabs. United are guaranteed to finish runners-up, but to qualify as group winners, Ten Hag’s troops need to win by a margin of at least two goals.
United have a slight edge over Sociedad in European competitions, chalking up two victories from five meetings. Moreover, United are undefeated in 33 of their past 37 Europa League matches, so that augurs well.
Ten Hag will demand a fast start, and United will oblige by controlling the ball and fashioning out plenty of chances. I have a hunch United will win comfortably and get the result they desire. If you like the look of United claiming victory by two goals, and if you are swayed by this particular section, then Unibet offers intriguing odds of 21/4.
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Real Sociedad v Manchester United
Charles expects a comfortable win for United in Spain
At 21/4 a £10 bet would return £62.50
Europa League
November 03, 2022
5:45 pm GMT
Marcus Rashford to bang in a double
Marcus Rashford has enjoyed a resurgence of late, and he will certainly come into Gareth Southgate’s thinking for England with the World Cup looming.
He seems to have a new-found attitude and is always a threat when he’s on form.
In the recent 1-0 victory over West Ham, Rashford became only the 22nd player for United to reach the 100-goal milestone, and he has notched up seven this term, two more than he managed compared to last season that was largely underwhelming.
With three goals to his name in the Europa League this campaign, I think Rashford will add to his tally against Sociedad. Indeed, he could help himself to a double, and he is trading at 11/1 to do so with William Hill.
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Real Sociedad v Manchester United
Charles expects a fruitful evening for Marcus Rashford
At 11/1 a £10 bet would return £120
Europa League
November 03, 2022
5:45 pm GMT
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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