Our prediction for this Europa League match:
Sheriff Tiraspol and Real Sociedad take on each other at Stadionul Sheriff in what will be their first ever meeting in European competitions. The Moldovan champions did well to crush Omonia 3-0 in their Europa League opener, but Manchester United proved to be a big catch for Stjepan Tomas’ troops in their second group game. Sheriff face yet another uphill task against La Real, and they are likely to rely on their rock-solid defence in Thursday’s showdown.
The Basques proved their worth in a 5-3 win over Girona at the weekend, with Norway international Alexander Sorloth scoring a brace. Since Real Sociedad have been showing signs of improvement of late, away win should definitely be considered. As for the visitors, All Sola, Navarro, and Fernandez are pushing for a start, while summer signing Umar Sadiq is out for the rest of the season.
Highlighted Player (Mikel Oyarzabal):
Intelligence is not an attribute you will find in Mikel Oyarzabal’s stats with Real Sociedad but this tricky winger is a highly knowledgeable winger who will use both brain and feet while playing. For a player born in Eibar, who made his first steps in his hometown club, it was always going to be a choice between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad for Oyarzabal.
La Real saw their chance and grabbed this gem of a player at a young age, helping him develop into a proper professional throughout their youth ranks. Mikel Oyarzabal has spent the entirety of his senior career with the Basque behemoths where he’d use his ability to fill in a number of positions up top much to his own benefit.
Oyarzabal’s positioning and movement are work of a tactical genius, whereas it is his nous to find details to exploit that best define him as a player. Having come through the youth categories of the Spanish national team, Oyarzabal also has a senior cap next to his name. It was in 2016 that he also represented the Basque region, scoring on his debut to cap a 3-1 win over Tunisia.
Highlighted Team (Real Sociedad):
Real Sociedad is as Bask football club from San Sebastian. The club is playing in the La Liga since 2010 after the club got relegated to the Segunda Division. Currently the club hosts its home games in the Anoeta Stadium which holds a capacity of 32 2000 seats.
Real Sociedad was founded on 17th of September 1909 as Sociedad de Futbol and was originally founded by English immigrants. Real Sociedad was one of the founders of the highest Spanish football division.
Starting from 1939 Sociedad de Futbol changed its name to Real Socidedad. Real Sociedad had the most success in the eighties where the club managed to win the title twice.Famous players that played for Real Sociedad are: Arteta, Beguiristain, Xabi Alonso and Griezmann.