With their win against Sheriff Tiraspol, Manchester United confirmed their qualification for the next round of the Europa League. However, their clash with Real Sociedad on Thursday will determine whether they have to play an extra round of fixtures.
This season, UEFA have added an extra round into the Europa League, with the second-placed team from each group entering a play-off round where they will face one of the teams to have dropped down from the Champions League.
United currently sit second in their group and Erik ten Hag will be desperate to avoid the risk of being dumped out of the Europa League along with the extra games in an already congested fixture list.
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United need to win by two goals or more against Sociedad to usurp the Spanish side at the top of the group. This may be difficult, however, based on the reverse fixture between the two sides at Old Trafford.
United have always found it hard to beat Spanish sides, and this even includes when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge. Fans may remember Ronaldo Nazario's famous hat-trick to sink United in 2003 and the defeats to Barcelona in the 2009 and 2011 finals, while the Europa League semi-final defeat to Sevilla and the final defeat to Villarreal still hurt.
Sociedad inflicted further Spanish pain on United earlier this season, thanks to a dubious penalty decision against Lisandro Martinez. However, Ten Hag will also be well aware that his side were not at their best in that game.
United struggled to create high-quality chances despite having the majority of the possession, and when they did break through they squandered their chances. It should be noted that Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford were absent from the starting line-up, and they have proven to be vital members of the team's attack since then.
United now look a much better team than the one that opened their Europa League campaign against Sociedad. They seem to understand Ten Hag's style and look far more comfortable in possession, which will be vital as you'd expect Sociedad to sit back in a bid to retain their status as top dogs in the group.
The main lesson that United need to take from their previous clash with Sociedad is to make the most of their control of the game. If they don't they will be forced to enter the play-offs and will be putting their chances of silverware at risk.
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