Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Prediction and Odds | Europa League Sept 8
Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Betting Preview
Manchester United and Real Sociedad met in the round of 32 of this very competition two seasons ago where United won 4-0 on aggregate. Will this year produce a similar result? WagerTalk soccer handicapper Nick Borrman shares his thoughts on Thursday’s Europa League clash between Man United and Real Sociedad.
| Thursday, September 8 | UEFA Europa League Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Manchester United: | -160 |
| Real Sociedad: | +450 |
| Draw: | +300 |
| Total: | 2.5 Goals (Odds Above Courtesy of DraftKings) |
| Game Time: | 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT |
The Surging Red Devils
Panic was all over Manchester after back-to-back losses for United to open their EPL campaign, losing 2-1 at home to Brighton and then an ugly 4-0 away loss at Brentford. However, Ten Haag didn’t panic, made a few lineup changes, most notably reserving Ronaldo to the bench to be used in a substitute role, and the Red Devils have now won four-straight games.
The run started with a very impressive (and unexpected) 2-1 home win over Liverpool and was capped off this weekend winning 3-1 at home vs Arsenal who was the only remaining EPL side without a draw or a loss on the season.
After losing the xG battle in each of their first two games, United are averaging a +0.39 xG differential in each of their four wins.
Sociedad Not on the Elite Level
Sociedad has fared better on the road this season than at home, but that’s more about who they have played. They won both away matches by the same 1-0 score over lowly Elche and Cadiz, the two teams with the worst xG differentials in La Liga.
At home though, they have played much stiffer competition like they will face in this match, drawing vs Atletico and losing by three goals to Barcelona. Even though they did manage a result vs Atletico, they generated less xG in both of those matches with an average -0.87 xG differential.
Going back to last season, the common theme from Sociedad is consistently struggling vs quality competition. In La Liga, they went 0-1-5 (W-D-L) vs Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid while in the Europa League, they struggled against other big-league teams, going winless in four matches vs Monaco and RB Leipzig as the latter eliminated them out in the first knockout round.
Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Prediction
Sociedad’s results against good teams are alarming while United have proven then can step up and win vs the best of the best. When these teams met in the Europa League two seasons ago, United out-shot Sociedad 24-15 with 13 on goal vs just three for the Spanish side. Those numbers were likely to be even more in United’s favor if they hadn’t already raced out to a 4-0 lead in Leg 1. All signs are pointing to a similar result here. TAKE MANCHESTER UNITED -0.75 (-120) on the Asian handicap.
Stoppage Time | Champions League Match Day 1 Betting Preview
The group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League tournament kicks off on Tuesday, September 6. Join Carmine Bianco, Kevin Dolan, Pavlos Laguretos and Nick Borrman for Stoppage Time as we preview this week’s biggest matches across Europe.
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Meet the Author
Nick Borrman fell in love with professional ‘football’ (as anyone outside of the United States would refer to it) the first time he attended an MLS match. Now, he uses statistical analysis as well as current trends to successfully find value on soccer matches across the globe. Borrman focuses much of his attention on the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A, as well as the most prestigious tournament of them all, the Champions League. Borrman derives many of his plays from his model forecasts and releases plays several days ahead of time to consistently beat line moves.
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