In the Europa League round of 32 draw, Manchester United had a poor signing, facing Real Sociedad, who currently ranks at the top of La Liga, with Manchester United veteran Januzzai and former Manchester City core David Silva in the squad. Among the other Premier League teams, Jose Mourinho's Tottenham hotspur drew "Wolfsburg austria" Wolfsberg, Leicester City met Slavia Prague, Czech Republic, and Arsenal met Portuguese powerhouse Benfica.
Interestingly, United have repeatedly encountered veterans in European competitions this season, and after André Herrera of Paris Saint-Germain and Rafael da Silva of Istanbul, the former "Giggs successor" Januzai will also return to the Theatre of Dreams.
Manchester United star Wes Brown believes That Jay Jr. will be desperate to prove himself. "Any former Manchester United player wants to perform well against his old club, Adnan (Januzai) got off to a good start at Real Sociedad and he and Silva will try to play both games. They managed to take a bad start for Barca and Real Madrid, leading in the table and I have to say it was a signing for Manchester United. Adnan will also be eager to show his mature side, helping the team to temporarily top the table."
In the past, United have only played Real Sociedad twice, and in the 2013/14 Champions League group stage, David Moyes's Red Devils remained unbeaten against La Liga sides, winning 1-0 at home and 0-0 away from home, with Van Persie conceding penalties and Fellaini red. It is worth mentioning that the only goal scored for Manchester United in two legs was Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez, which was a oolong goal.
But United's last nine appearances against La Liga have been 3 draws and 6 defeats, and the last three have been all defeats, including last season's 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League. Therefore, in order not to become the Europa League "32 lang", Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must lead the team to break the spell.
According to the rules, Manchester United, as seeded teams in the Europa League, can enjoy the advantage of the schedule between the first and the last. The first leg of the two teams will be played at the home of Real Sociedad on 19 February next year, and the second leg will be moved to Old Trafford on 26 February. This will also bring Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a fixture, between the two legs, Manchester United to welcome the Premier League with Newcastle at home, it is not difficult, but after the second leg, the Red Devils will face two vicious battles. These include a visit to Chelsea at the end of February and a manchester derby to Manchester City in March.
Not only that, but if Manchester United can make it to the end of this season's English League Cup, the final will also take place at this time. If so, the battle against Chelsea would be postponed and replaced by the League Cup final.
If United are still fighting for the Premier League by then, they may need to weigh the pros and cons between European and league matches, because if they want to reach the Europa League final, there will be three games in March and Four months, and two games in May, and for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is not good at rotation, the intensive schedule at the end of the season is a big challenge.
Manchester United fixtures for February:
19 February 1:55, Real Sociedad v Manchester United, Europa League;
On 21 February, Manchester United vs Newcastle, Premier League
On 26 February, Manchester United vs Real Sociedad, Europa League;
On 28 February, Chelsea vs Manchester United, Premier League;
The League Cup final was also played at Wembley Stadium on 28 February;
On March 6, Manchester City vs Manchester United, Premier League.