Man Utd team news vs Real Sociedad and predicted lineup | OneFootball

Manchester United resume their quest for Europa League glory when they travel to face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their last 16 tie on Thursday.

The game at Old Trafford kicks off at 8pm and will be shown on TNT Sports 1.

Man Utd predicted lineup vs Real Sociedad

Man Utd (3-4-2-1): Onana; Mazraoui, Lindelof, De Ligt; Dalot, Fernandes, Casemiro, Dorgu; Zirkzee, Garnacho; Hojlund.

Man Utd team news vs Real Sociedad

Ruben Amorim will be without Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo through a range of injuries. Mason Mount is now back in training, but Thursday’s game will come “too soon” for the midfielder.

Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro are also unavailable for Man Utd in defence, but neither injuries are expected to be long-term, with Amorim hoping for Maguire to be back in time for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Leicester City.

Seventeen-year-old Chido Obi is unavailable due to not being registered in the European squad list, which leaves Amorim with the decision to make on whether to stick with Joshua Zirkzee through the middle, or bring Rasmus Hojlund back into the side.

On the bright side, Patrick Dorgu who is still serving a domestic ban will be able to play against Real Sociedad on Thursday, likely coming in at left wing-back.

Rasmus Hojlund’s goal drought

Rasmus Hojlund is struggling for form at Man Utd, having played 37 times this season, scoring just seven goals and providing one assist in a total of 2,175 minutes played. However, five of his seven goals have come in the Europa League, leaving him joint-ninth in the top scorers chart, with Olympiakos forward, El Kaabi top of the chart with seven goals scored.

The 22-year-old has generated 0.55 Expected Goals per game in the Europa League so far this season, ranking him 24th in the charts for xG per game in this competition. The Danish forward has a shot accuracy of 66.67%, ranking fifth in this metric in the competition this season.

Starting in the second leg against Real Sociedad could be a good chance for Hojlund to gain some confidence, staying close to the top scorers in the competition and gathering some necessary momentum going into the last months of the season.

Hojlund started the first leg against the Spanish side, only managing 19 touches in the game, but making eight of his 11 passes (73% completion), creating three chances and also winning one of his four ground duels.

Chances may not be coming with ease for the young forward currently, but the data suggests he is doing a lot of the right things in and around the box in this competition, leading to his five goals scored so far.

If Hojlund could grab another against Sociedad, it would not only help Man Utd in their Europa League pursuit, but also bring a much-needed confidence boost to the out of form 22-year-old talisman.