Real Sociedad vs Midtjylland

Reale Arena hosts the second leg of a dramatic Europa League knockout playoff tie between Real Sociedad and Midtjylland.

Real Sociedad took a massive step toward reaching the next Europa League round after beating Midtjylland 2-1 in last week’s first leg to stretch their winning streak in all competitions to three games. However, a 3-0 loss to fellow La Liga rivals Betis at the weekend hindered Sociedad’s momentum. Despite that result, ‘La Real’ should be confident of advancing to the last-16 after progressing from seven of their nine European knockout ties when winning the first leg! Worryingly, Sociedad’s last home victory in a European knockout fixture dates back to the turn of the century, with the Basque giants going winless in six consecutive such games afterward (D2, L4). A fast start could help Imanol Alguacil’s side buck that trend, which is a distinct possibility, considering they’ve scored a Europa League-high ten first-half goals this season.

On the other hand, Midtjylland must pull off an unlikely comeback to avoid being dumped out of the first European knockout round for the third time in the past four years. The visitors received a significant confidence boost ahead of this trip as they beat domestic rivals Lyngby 1-0 at the weekend to consolidate their league title pursuit. However, the Danes must defy history to crash Sociedad out of the competition after winning none of their last eight European knockout away legs (D2, L6) despite getting on the scoresheet on seven occasions. As if that’s not worrying enough, Thomas Thomasberg’s men have slumped to defeats without scoring in four of their last six competitive away matches.