It’s safe to say that Manchester United have already got one foot in the next round of the Europa League following their 4-0 thrashing on Real Sociedad last week.
The English side completely dominated the Round of 32 first leg, leaving Sociedad with a mountain to climb in order to turn things around.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men recorded 13 shots, ten of which were on target, as they humiliated the Spaniards at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium.
A Bruno Fernandes brace, along with goals from Marcus Rashford and Daniel James, saw Man Utd create an almost unassailable advantage.
Since then, the Red Devils have managed to claim a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United, keeping them second in the Premier League table.
However, given Manchester City’s ten-point lead at the top of the table, the Premier League title is almost out of reach.
Still, having strung together a pretty much perfect Europa League campaign up to now, Solskjaer’s side are looking like genuine contenders to go all the way in this competition.
On the flip side, Real Sociedad will probably be feeling as though they don’t stand a chance of qualifying for the Round of 32.
The Spanish side would need to score four goals and prevent Man Utd for scoring just to force extra-time on Thursday.
However, an easy 4-0 victory over Alaves on Sunday saw Sociedad extend their winning streak in La Liga to three games.
La Real are also unbeaten in their previous five league outings, meaning they currently sit fifth in the La Liga table – four points fourth-place Sevilla.
Head-to-head: Following last week’s 4-0 win, Manchester United remain unbeaten against Real Sociedad after three previous meetings.
The two sides also clashed during the 2013/14 season, with the aggregate scoreline currently sitting at 5-0 in favour of the English side.
Team news: Paul Pogba is currently sidelined for Man Utd, while Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek and Edinson Cavani are doubts for Thursday.
As for the visitors, attacking midfielder Luca Sangalli is the only notable injury absentee for the Real Sociedad.
Given that Man Utd already has one foot in the next round, we could see the home side play without an intensity on Thursday.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Real Sociedad will hold Man Utd to a low-scoring draw this time around, sending Solskajer’s men through to the Round of 16.