Man Utd vs Real Sociedad: the key players to watch and previous head-to-head form

Manchester United begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday evening when they welcome Real Sociedad to Old Trafford.

The Red Devils will feature in the competition for a sixth time this season since its rebranding from the UEFA Cup in the 2009-10 campaign.

United reached the final of the Europa League in 2021, but fell to a 11-10 defeat on penalties to Villarreal.

The Red Devils lifted the trophy in 2017 under Jose Mourinho after beating Ajax 2-0 at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

Sociedad offer the first test for Erik ten Hag’s team, and are a side who have featured regularly in the competition since its rebrand.

Here’s everything you need about Sociedad ahead of the group-stage opener…

Start to the season

It’s been an interesting start to the new campaign for Sociedad, who have won two of their opening four La Liga games.

They began the season with a 1-0 win over Cadiz away from home, that was followed by a 1-0 loss in the Basque derby to Bilbao.

Another defeat followed for the Blue and Whites, who lost 4-1 to Barcelona, but they managed a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Last season

Sociedad finished sixth in La Liga last season, winning 17 of their league games, drawing 11 and losing 10.

They had the joint-seventh lowest goals scored in 2021/22, which shows how important their defensive displays were to achieve a European place.

In Europe, the Blue and Whites finished second in a Europa League group containing Monaco, PSV and Sturm Graz, meaning they advanced to the knockout play-offs round.

Imanol Alguacil’s men were eliminated by RB Leipzig over two legs, losing 3-5 on aggregate.

Familiar faces

Sociedad have four former Premier League players in their squad, with David Silva, who spent 10 seasons with cross-town rivals Manchester City, their most notable name.

Left-back Diego Rico joined the club last summer from Bournemouth, where he spent two years in England’s top flight, while former Newcastle United midfielder Mikel Merino is amongst their ranks.

The other one-time Premier League star in Sociedad’s squad is Alexander Sørloth, formerly of Crystal Palace. He rejoined the club from Leipzig on a season-long loan deal this summer from Leipzig.

Fans of European football should also be familiar with the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal, though unavailable for the game and Asier Illarramendi, once of Real Madrid.

Head-to-head record

The clubs have only met on four previous occasions before, most recently in their Europa League round of 32 clash during the 2020-21 season, where United ran out 4-0 winners on aggregate over both legs.

They also met in the 2013-14 Champions League group stage. The Red Devils won 1-0 at Old Trafford in their first meeting, but drew 0-0 when they travelled to San Sebastian.