Here we will bring you Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Prediction, Team news, and Possible lineups and all you need to know ahead of the game at Old Trafford.

Manchester United takes on Real Sociedad on Thursday night at Old Trafford in Group E’s opening match after just ending Arsenal’s undefeated start to the season last weekend

In the Premier League last weekend, the Red Devils defeated their rivals 3-1 to mark the end of their four games unbeaten run this season, while their rivals from Spain earned a point by drawing 1-1 with Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

Match preview

United’s £85.4 million signing Antony did exhibit some of the showy movement that has drawn online jeers when used against Arsenal, the slick Brazilian also showed his skill in front of goal to aid the Red Devils in extending their winning streak at the cost of Arsenal.

 hBefore the pressing Arsenal team finally got their consolation via Bukayo Saka, Antony had curled home a lovely debut goal. However, the Gunners’ defense crumbled as Marcus Rashford net a brace in the second half of the game for the revitalized Red Devils.

Read also: FC Zurich vs Arsenal Prediction, Team news and Lineup

Manchester United enters the first match of the 2022/23 Europa League having won four straight matches in the Premier League, with two top English teams Arsenal and Liverpool both fall a victim to their supremacy at Old Trafford. Man United have now recovered from their disgraceful start to journey under Erik ten Hag.

In each of their last three performances in the Europa League competition, Man United has advanced as far as the semi-finals; however, Villarreal’s skill on the penalty spot allowed them to defeat the Red Devils and win the trophy in 2021. Manchester United will now attempt to continue this perfect run of success of making it out of the group phase in the Europa League.

Manchester United and Group E easy ride

The Theatre of Dreams crowd won’t be anticipating Omonia or Sheriff Tiraspol to cause their side much problems later on in Group E. Man United’s European trip last season similarly came to a sudden end as they lost to Atletico Madrid in the last-16 of the Champions League.

Real Sociedad did not let Alvaro Morata’s early goal against Atletico Madrid depress their spirits as they rallied to draw 1-1 with Diego Simeone’s team, continuing their trend of netting one and no more than one goal in La Liga games this season.

Umar Sadiq, 25, scored quite a number of goals ffor Almeria in the spanish second division last season, so replacing Newcastle United’s newcomer Alexander Isak with him paid off right away. He headed in the equalizer barely 10 minutes after coming off the bench.

Read also: Man United Predicted Lineup vs Real sociedad

Imanol Alguacil’s team has won twice so far away from home, though they played against Cadiz and Elche rather than 20-time EnglishEnational champions Man United, and seven out of a potential 12 points is still not a bad start to the year.

Sociedad will participate in the Europa League group stage for the third time in a row in the 2022–23 season. During the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, they successfully advanced to the knockout stages, but last year, RB Leipzig eliminated them at the last–32 stage.

Prior to that 5-4 overall loss to Die Roten Bullen, Alguacil’s team lost to Man United at the same stage of the 2020–21 competition when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer guided the Red Devils to a 4-0 victory at the Allianz Stadium and a goalless draw in the return leg at Old Trafford.

Manchester United’s record overall: LLWWWW
Form for Real Sociedad in all contests: WLWD

Team News

Luke Shaw was healthy enough to sit on the bench during Man United’s victory over Arsenal, while Anthony Martial, Facundo Pellistri, and Brandon Williams are still sidelined. Williams was not included on the Europa League roster in any case.

Rotation is expected from the hosts, possibly beginning in goal where Martin Dubravka will look to make his debut. Donny van de Beek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will need to be evaluated as they attempt to recover from injuries in time for the game.

Due to competition from players like Harry Maguire, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Casemiro for spots in the starting lineup, Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford might not be risked after their cautious withdrawals over the weekend.

Due to a broken bone in his foot, French center back Robin Le Normand has been left off the visiting team for the match on Thursday. Diego Rico, Mikel Oyarzabal, Martin Merquelanz, and Carlos Fernandez have also been ruled out. Aritz Elustondo ought to take Le Normand’s place in the center of the defense

Manchester United Predicted Lineup

Dubravka, Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, Casemiro, Fred, Antony, Fernandes, Elanga, and Ronaldo.

Real Sociedad Predicted Lineup

Remiro, Gorosabel, Zubeldia, Elustondo, Munoz, Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino, Silva, Sadiq, and Sorloth.

Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Prediction

Sociedad has struggled mightily thus far this year, and even if Ten Hag decides to rearrange the defensive pack, Alguacil’s team will still have their work cut out for them if they hope to worry the Red Devils’ backline.

The visitors are still difficult to defeat on occasion, but Man United will greatly benefit from Le Normand’s anticipated absence and should prevail in a close game to record their fifth straight victory.

Here we bring you FC Zurich vs Arsenal prediction, team news, predicted lineup and all you need to know ahead of the opening Europa League games on Thursday night.

On Thursday, Arsenal’s ultimate pursuit for Europa League success gets underway as the Gunners head to Kybunpark to take on Swiss champions FC Zurich.

Due to their fifth-place Premier League finish, Mikel Arteta’s team had an easy path into the group stage while their opponents were eliminated from Champions League qualifiers.

Contrary to their more illustrious rivals, Zurich has played in the Champions League in 2022–23; nevertheless, Franco Foda failed to lead his team past Qarabag of Azerbaijan, and Zurich lost on aggregate by a score of 5–4.

Read also: Napoli 4-1 Liverpool: The Reds were thrashed by the Naples

After slipping to the second -tier of European play, Zurich bounced back to defeat Hearts 3-1 on aggregate and put five past Linfield over the course of two legs, securing their spot in the Europa League group stage for the sixth time in 11 years.

The 13-time defending champions from Switzerland exited the competition at the group stage in each of the editions from 2011–12, 2014–15, and 2016–17. However, they broke this curse in their final appearance in the secondary competition, reaching the last-32 in 2018–19 before being defeated by Napoli.

Match Preview

Sadly, FC Zurich has had a brutally dismal start to the defense of their Swiss Super League championship, going winless through 7 games and losing three straight home matches to Sion, Basel, and Lugano.

Zurich’s loss of the highly regarded Wilfried Gnonto to Leeds United hasn’t helped in that aspect, but the 18-year-old had struggled in the 2022–23 Swiss Super League, so the hosts’ quest for a fifth consecutive Europa League victory won’t be easy.

Arsenal certainly received a severe wakeup call at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season after being considered the favorites for the fourth place and final Champions League spot and being tipped as serious contenders for third.

Read also: Europa League predictions

It can be recalled that Arteta’s men lost semi-final matches in 2018 and 2021 and reached the losing final in 2019, will now play in the second tier of European football for a sixth season. It would be best to keep quiet about their last-32 loss to Olympiacos in 2020.

However, the Mikel Arteta approach has been successful for the Gunners in recent weeks, with the club’s wise acquisitions adding to their new reputation as a pressing machine. However, Manchester United dragged the Gunners back to reality at the weekend.

The English giants enter Thursday’s match with a 75% win rate from Europa League group stage games, second only to Zenit St. Petersburg (79%) among teams that have competed in at least two or three editions of the competition. Marcus Rashford and £85 million man Antony ended Arsenal’s perfect start to the new Premier League season, but they still lead after six games.

The game on Thursday will be the first competitive encounter between Arsenal and Zurich, but the Gunners travel with a 100% winning record against Swiss opposition (six victories from six), thanks to the hat-trick of the misunderstood Lucas Perez in a 4-1 Champions League victory over Basel.

FC Zurich and Arsenal Current Form

Form for the FC Zurich Europa League: WWWW

FC Zurich form (all competitions): DWWWLL

Arsenal form (across all competitions): WWWWWL 

Teams News

Barring the unavailability of center back Ilan Sauter and striker Bogdan Viunnyk, who is on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Zurich should be well-prepared for this match.

Aiyegun Tosin, who recently opened his account for the season in the defeat to Lugano, will thus be under pressure to be the attacking force. Fabian Rohner may assist him in the final third.

Karol Mets of Estonia played for only 45 minutes over the weekend after receiving an early caution, and Fidan Aliti or Nikola Katic, who left Rangers after 4 years to join FCZ, could challenge for his starting position.

Reiss Nelson, Thomas Partey, and Mohamed Elneny are all permanently confined to the medical room for Arsenal, and now Arteta has a new injury worry in Emile Smith Rowe, who appeared to limp off during the warm-up at Old Trafford.

Cedric Soares (knee) has been left out of the team, but several changes are still possible as Matt Turner, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Rob Holding, Eddie Nketiah, and Fabio Vieira try to break into the starting lineup.

After being selected for the senior Gunners Europa League squad, Marquinhos and Matt Smith may also make their club debuts. If Nketiah replaces Gabriel Jesus this week, he will attempt to score in his third straight Europa League start.

FC Zurich Predicted lineup vs Arsenal

Brecher; Kryeziu, Omeragic, Aliti; Boranijasevic, Dzemaili, Selnaes, Conde, Guerrero; Tosin, Rohner

Arsenal Predicted lineup vs FC Zurich

Turner; Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Xhaka, Lokonga; Saka, Vieira, Martinelli; Nketiah

FC Zurich vs Arsenal Prediction

Even if the visitors will rotate, Arteta will still field a team with a wealth of young talent that is capable of leaving a lasting impression. The Gunners would have felt betrayed if they had left Old Trafford empty-handed.

Although they have performed much better on the European competition, Zurich have had a terrible start to their new home campaign, thus we cannot see anything other than a convincing away victory for Arteta’s team this week.

The match will end with an away victory, according to our professional tipster friends at Sporita.com. 

FT: FC Zurich 1-3 Arsenal

The Europa League group stage draw took place in the early hours of Friday, August 26, 2022. Lots of football fans anticipated this event, especially after the Champions League draw that took place yesterday.

Manchester United struggled to secure a place in the last four on the Premier League table last season all to no avail, however, the English giant will be hopeful of an excellent outing in the Europa league this season.

Erik Ten Hag’s side has been grouped alongside La Liga side Real Sociedad, FC Sheriff, and Omonia Nicosia, while Arsenal has the former Europa League winners PSV Eindhoven to worry about in the Europa League group stage.

The Red Devils appear to be in formidable form after defeating Liverpool at Old Trafford in their third Premier League match of the 2022/23 season and will have no problems facing FC Sheriff and Omonia Nicosia in Group E.

Aside from PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal also has Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich to slug out within Group A. The Gunners are battle ready this season as they have maintained a 100% starting to the season having won all three of the EPL matches so far this season.

Similarly, the Europa Conference League group stage draws have also been made. West Ham will be up against Anderlecht in Group B while Scottish side Hearts have been drawn alongside Italian giants Fiorentina, Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir and FK RFS of Latvia in Group A.

Also in group B are Romania champions FCSB and Danes Silkeborg IF.

In Group F, Shamrock Rovers have been grouped alongside Gent of Belgium, Molde, and Djurgardens.

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Europa League group stage draw in full

Group A: 

• Arsenal
• PSV Eindhoven
• Bodo/Glimt
• FC Zurich

Group B: 

• Dynamo Kyiv
• Rennes
• Fenerbahce
• AEK Larnaca

Group C: 

• Roma
• Ludogorets
• Real Betis
• HJK Helsinki

Group D: 

• Braga
• Malmo
• Union Berlin
• Union Saint-Gilloise

Group E: 

• Manchester United
• Real Sociedad
• FC Sheriff
• Omonia Nicosia

Group F: 

• Lazio
• Feyenoord
• FC Midtjylland
• SK Sturm Graz

Group G: 

• Olympiakos
• Qarabag
• Freiburg
• Nantes

Group H: 

• Red Star Belgrade
• Monaco
• Ferencvaros TC
• Trabzonspor

Draw throws up familiar faces

Man United, the 2017 Europa League champions, faced Real Sociedad in the Champions League group stage in 2013 and the last 32 of the Europa League in 2021. Where the Red Devils emerged victorious in both games 4-0 on aggregate.

Whereas Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus is coached by former Celtic manager Neil Lennon and as such football fans are keen on seeing some tactical mastery in the team. FC Sheriff of Moldova is the champions of the Moldovan League and should not be overlooked as well.

Arsenal’s rivals all failed to go past the qualification round for the Champions League last season whereas Arsenal are yet to make a return to the Champions League. But by our calculations, it is possible to see the Gunners finishing in the top four spots this season. 

Ruud van Nistelrooy, an ex-Manchester United attacker who now manages PSV, saw his team fall to Rangers in the Champions League play-off.

Champions of Norway and Switzerland, respectively, are Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich.

first-year Europa Conference League champions Real Betis and Ludogorets are also in Group C with Roma.

Read Also: Champions League Group Stage Draws in full

Can teams from the same country be drawn in the same group?

It is a standard rule by UEFA that clubs from the same country cannot be drawn in the same group of the Europa League competition, it is totally prohibited same as clubs from the same pot should not be drawn in the same group.

Peradventure, If a club is picked to be in a group that already has another club from the same country, the team picked will be put in the next available group.

When does the Europa League start?

The first group stage matches in the 2022/23 Europa League will be played on September 8th.

Due to the 2022 World Cup, all group games will conclude on November 3, with the round of 16 beginning on March 9.

The Europa League final will thus be held on May 31 in Budapest, Hungary.