Manchester United v Real Sociedad: Back Basques to find the net

Manchester United v Real Sociedad
Thursday 08 September, 20:00
Live on BT Sport 1

Ten Hag building momentum and authority

Although a 3-1 scoreline wasn't entirely reflective of the pattern of the game when Manchester United overcame Arsenal on Sunday, there were some hugely encouraging signs for Red Devils fans. Brazilian winger Antony scored on his debut, which will provide an early confidence boost for the former Ajax star.

Christian Eriksen was again outstanding, with his laser-guided passing a key feature of the victory, and Marcus Rashford's brace underlined the progress he is making this season.

Most importantly of all, there are clear patterns emerging when United have the ball and when they don't. Ten Hag is giving a hitherto listless and directionless group of players some much-needed structure, something they have lacked for years.

It's important not to go overboard (the debacle in Brentford was last month), but there has been definite progress, as United have put together a four-match winning streak.

Ten Hag has praised his players' attitude, but he must now find a way to keep fringe performers happy. Remarkably, Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself in that category, as his lack of mobility and reluctance to press make him ill-suited to the football ten Hag ultimately wants to play.

Of course, United can still have a use for such a legendary talent, and it may well be that he truly makes an impact in the Europa League. That's ironic when you consider the Portuguese record-breaker spent the whole summer trying to leave the club so he could play in the Champions League.

Ten Hag may well make a number of changes here, with a tricky trip to Crystal Palace on the horizon. Casemiro is in line for his first United start, while the likes of Ronaldo, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Fred could all return.

Without Isak, La Real are still a threat

After years of being linked with a move away, Swedish international striker Alexander Isak finally departed San Sebastian, making a big-money move to Newcastle. Despite his exit, Imanol's side still play on the front foot and have a number of attacking threats.

Japanese winger Take Kubo has already had some promising performances, scoring the winner at Cadiz. Former Almeria striker Umar Sadiq is nominally Isak's replacement as a forward, and he scored in the weekend's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid. La Real have acquired another wild card in teenage forward Mohamed Ali Cho, who is raw and unpredictable.

The Basque side have bad memories of facing United in this competition. Last year they lost 4-0 at home and drew 0-0 away, but both teams have had significant changes since then. Real Sociedad have started the season with 1-0 wins at Elche and Cadiz, a 1-1 draw with Atletico and a 4-1 home defeat against Barcelona.

Spain winger Mikel Oyarzabal is a long-term absentee through injury, but David Silva is fit and available to face his old Manchester foes. Manchester City legend Silva is 36 now, and is yet to come up with a goal or an assist in the league. Defender Robin Le Normand is a doubt.

Odds-on United an unexciting proposal

With ten Hag expected to make changes, it's difficult to know if United are able to maintain momentum here, especially if the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford are rested. Consistency of selection has been a big part of United's recent progress.

I'm not sure United's Match Odds market price of 1.684/6 is that attractive, but I do like the look of Both Teams To Score at 1.845/6. United have conceded at least one goal in four of their six games, and all of the expected changes could destabilise the side, allowing Real Sociedad's unpredictable set of forwards to do some damage.

Ronaldo can make a statement

Cristiano Ronaldo excelled for United in the Champions League group stage last term, scoring six goals. Given a start here he should be able to get into scoring positions, and we can use the Sportsbook's Bet Builder to back him to score and Over 1.5 Goals at evens.

On the Real Sociedad side of things, Sadiq is 3.39/4 to find the net. The Nigerian has scored in his last three La Liga games.