Football Bet of the Day: United face tough test in Spain

The Europa League takes centre stage tonight with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United both in action. Chelsea are also attempting to progress in the Europa Conference League, but for our Football Bet of the Day we are heading to Spain, where Ruben Amorim’s men face a tough test. 

Football Odds

Manchester United’s entire season now rests on the Europa League. Their FA Cup exit on penalties to Fulham on Sunday means they are no longer in contention for any of the domestic cups, and the 10-point gap between themselves and seventh-placed Bournemouth means their remaining Premier League fixtures are almost irrelevant. 

From a pride point of view they will want to see an upturn in performances and results in the league, but it doesn’t actually matter whether they finished 10th or 15th in the grand scheme of things. The Europa League then, has become the be-all and end-all of their campaign. 

If they can go all the way and win the final in Bilbao, they wil not only have saved their season but qualified for next season’s Champions League. Given their league performances that seems unjust, but Amorim will now surely put all of his eggs into this European basket. The club’s finances don’t appear to be in the best place, with Jim Ratcliffe cutting everything from staff to sandwiches, and some Champions League money would go a long way in getting them back on track. 

The importance of the competition cannot be underestimated from United’s point of view. But unfortunately for them, the reality of things on the pitch is pretty bleak right now. They looked decent for the final 20 minutes at Everton as they rescued a draw, and they also did well to hold on to all three points with 10-men at home to Ipswich Town. But they are two poor teams in the Premier League, and the eventual loss against Fulham will have drained their confidence further. 

Real Sociedad vs Manchester United Odds

A trip to Real Sociedad then, is potentially the last thing they need. The Spanish side have been excellent at the Reale Arena this term, winning 11 of their last 14 fixtures on home soil. They’ve also won their last four home Europa League matches on the bounce, and they put five past Midtjylland to reach this stage. 

They’ve lost their last two outings, but those defeats have come against Barcelona and Real Madrid so are more than excusable. I think United will find life really tough tonight as Sociedad look to put them to the sword. The Red Devils haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last six in all competitions and Sociedad have won five of their last seven matches at home by a two goal margin. 

I think we are getting good value on them to cause United serious trouble tonight, and will back Real Sociedad to win with a -1 handicap at 16/5.

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