Europa League Preview: Manchester United vs Real Sociedad

Manchester United have one foot in the Europa League round of 16, following their 4-0 demolition of Real Sociedad last week.

They now face the Spanish side in the return leg at Old Trafford on Thursday night, knowing that anything better than a three-goal defeat will see them into the next round.

With United being so far ahead in the tie, there may be a large amount of rotation, with a number of youngsters and fringe players likely to be involved.

How do Manchester United look?

In terms of injuries, Manchester United will be without a number of big-name players for the visit of Sociedad.

Paul Pogba is still out, although he is back in training, so may be available for the weekend’s clash against Chelsea.

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Alongside the Frenchman, midfield duo Donny Van de Beek and Scott McTominay are both confirmed absentees, whilst forward Edinson Cavani remains to be side-lined, having missed the last couple of matches.

There were initially reports that Hannibal, United’s young French midfielder, could have been involved to cover for the injuries in the first team, but boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that he too has an issue, saying that he “is out for about a month”.

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In more positive news, Solskjaer explained how Amad Diallo and Shola Shoretire will “of course, be involved. They are in the squad”, suggesting that they may be in with a shot of making the starting eleven for the first time.

Other players that are expected to be involved include Eric Bailly, Dean Henderson, Daniel James and Nemanja Matic, who have seen their game time somewhat limited in recent weeks.

Opposition: Real Sociedad

The big team news for Sociedad is that Manchester City legend David Silva has not been included in the away side’s squad, so will play no part in his return to Manchester.

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Adnan Januzaj, who showed a couple of glimpses of quality last week, is expected to be involved against his old side.

Key Stats

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Shola Shortire, when making his debut at the weekend, became Manchester United’s second youngest player to play in the Premier League. One for the future for sure.