[sport] Real Sociedad vs Man Utd: Europa League preview, team news, stats, kick-off time

[-Kenzo]

Mikel Oyarzabal looks set to start for Real Sociedad; Edinson Cavani, Donny Van De Beek and Paul Pogba are unavailable for Manchester United; follow with our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms.

Mikel Oyarzabal looks set to start for Real Sociedad after playing 79 minutes in his side's the 1-0 victory over Getafe at the weekend on his return from injury.

However, long-term absentees Miguel Moya and Luca Sangalli are still missing.

Edinson Cavani, Donny Van De Beek and Paul Pogba are unavailable for Manchester United.Summer signings Cavani and Van De Beek have muscle injuries, while manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed a thigh complaint will keep Pogba out for the rest of February.Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay have travelled to Italy for the last-32 first leg but face fitness tests on Thursday. Juan Mata is involved after missing recent squads, while teenagers Amad Diallo and Shola Shoretire are included.

When Manchester United won 2-1 at Fulham on January 20 to look down on the rest of the Premier League, things were looking rosy for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.

Four weeks on and United trail neighbours Manchester City by seven points after winning only one of their last five league games. Solskjaer is likely to make changes for the clash with Real Sociedad, which is taking place in Turin due to the pandemic, but the Norwegian needs to rediscover the winning habit. One familiar face will be in the Sociedad side - Belgium winger Adnan Januzaj who broke into the United team as a teenager and made 63 appearances for the club between 2012 and 2017.Real Sociedad and Manchester United have only met twice previously, doing so in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage - Man Utd won 1-0 at Old Trafford, while it was a goalless draw in Spain.
Manchester United are winless in their last nine European matches against Spanish opponents (D3 L6) since a 1-0 win over Celta de Vigo in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League semi-final.
Real Sociedad have lost four of their last five knockout matches in major UEFA European competition (D1) since winning 2-1 against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the last 16 in the UEFA Cup in 1998/99.
Manchester United have lost one of their last 16 UEFA Europa League knockout matches (W10 D5), losing in their most recent game against Sevilla in the semi-final last season.
Only Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe (36) has attempted more take-ons in the opposition half than Real Socidead's Adnan Januzaj (35) in the UEFA Europa League this season, with only Chidera Ejuke (32) and Everton (26) completing more dribbles than Januzaj overall (23).