In the first knockout round of the Europa League, Midtjylland hosts Real Sociedad in the first leg of their two-legged tie on Thursday at MCH Arena. The home team, managed by Thomas Thomasberg, is by no means among the tournament’s biggest favorites, but in a single game, anything can happen. Real Sociedad, however, is a tough opponent away from home even if the season in La Liga has not gone as well as expected, they are only 7th with 31 points, which is almost exactly the same amount of points that their performance-based data suggests. The matches have been low-scoring, and strangely enough, their expected goals are a lot higher in both ends. They finish poorly, and defend successfully? Something weird there.
Midtjylland has been able to focus almost entirely on their upcoming European clashes, as the Danish Superliga only resumes this coming weekend after the winter break. During the UEL league phase, the team finished in the mid-table, which was a fair outcome given their goal difference of 9-9 and expected goals slightly exceeding those numbers. Thomasberg’s squad will likely take a rather conservative approach to the knockout matches as they will be underdogs here, and would be against almost anyone else.
Team news
Midtjylland will be missing Kristoffer Olsson, Cho Gue-sung, and goalkeeper Elías Ólafsson on Thursday. Dani Silva, who was signed from Hellas Verona in January to strengthen the midfield, is expected to be in the squad.
Like their local rivals Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, under the guidance of Imanol Alguacil, was defensively rock-solid during the league phase. This suggests that in crucial spring fixtures, especially in two-legged ties, La Real’s team will be difficult to break down. Given that their pressing game has also been of high quality at times, they even have the potential to be a serious title contender.
Team news:
Álvaro Odriozola is suspended, and with Hamari Traoré still recovering, the right-back position is expected to be filled by Jon Aramburu or Aritz Elustondo. Aihen Muñoz and Igor Zubeldia have also remained in San Sebastián due to health issues, meaning the starting defensive line will be missing a couple of key players. Yet, La Real are famous of having dozens of homegrown youngsters and super talented players who have grown into the system, unless the absolute key players are I would not worry for a moment.
Real Sociedad should already assert its dominance in the first leg. Based on pre-match analysis, the game is likely to be a low-scoring away victory. Midtjylland was not particularly dangerous during the league phase, and given Real Sociedad’s strong collective performance, a pragmatic game plan should lead to a favorable result for the visitors.
The weather in Europe is no issue for the Basque teams. They are from Spain, but the climate in the North of Spain is similar to Manchester and the likes, and they do not get frozen because of that.
Sociedad will keep the clean sheet, and I am hoping they score two as this looks like the biggest value on offer.
Good luck!
该文章通过有道机器翻译，仅供参考:
在欧联杯第一轮淘汰赛中，中荷兰将于周四在MCH Arena主场迎战皇家社会。由托马斯·托马斯伯格（Thomas Thomas Thomasberg）执教的主队绝不是本届世界杯最受欢迎的球队之一，但在一场比赛中，任何事情都有可能发生。然而，皇家社会在客场是一个强硬的对手，即使在西甲联赛中没有像预期的那样顺利，他们仅以31分排名第7，这与他们的表现数据显示的积分几乎完全相同。这两场比赛的比分都很低，但奇怪的是，他们在两端的预期进球都要高得多。他们踢得不好，防守却很成功？有点奇怪。
由于丹麦超级联赛在冬歇期结束后的这个周末才重新开始，中荷兰几乎可以把全部精力集中在即将到来的欧洲联赛上。在UEL联赛阶段，球队以中游结束，这是一个公平的结果，因为他们的净胜球是9-9，预期进球略高于这些数字。托马斯伯格的球队可能会在淘汰赛中采取相当保守的方式，因为他们在这里将处于劣势，而且几乎要面对其他任何球队。
团队的新闻
周四的比赛中，米德日兰将失去奥尔森、赵圭成和门将Elías Ólafsson。达尼·席尔瓦，一月份从维罗纳转会来加强中场的球员，预计也会出现在大名单中。
和当地的对手毕尔巴鄂竞技一样，皇家社会在伊曼纽尔·阿尔瓜西尔的带领下，在联赛阶段的防守坚如磐石。这意味着在关键的春季赛程中，尤其是两回合的比赛中，皇马将很难被击败。考虑到他们的压迫比赛有时也有很高的质量，他们甚至有可能成为一个严肃的冠军竞争者。
团队新闻:
Álvaro奥德里奥佐拉将停赛，而哈马里·特拉奥里亚尔仍在恢复中，右后卫的位置预计将由阿拉姆布鲁或埃卢斯通多填补。艾亨Muñoz和伊戈尔·祖贝尔迪亚也因为健康问题留在了圣Sebastián，这意味着首发后卫线将会缺少几名关键球员。然而，皇马以拥有数十名土生土长的年轻人和超级天才球员而闻名，他们已经成长为这个体系，除非绝对的关键球员是我一点也不担心。
皇家社会应该已经在第一回合确立了自己的统治地位。根据赛前分析，这场比赛很可能是一场比分较低的客场胜利。中荷兰在联赛阶段并不是特别危险，考虑到皇家社会强大的集体表现，一个务实的比赛计划应该会给客队带来一个有利的结果。
欧洲的天气对巴斯克队来说不是问题。他们来自西班牙，但西班牙北部的气候与曼彻斯特等地相似，所以他们不会因此而冻僵。
Sociedad将保持零失球，我希望他们能进两个球，因为这看起来是最大的价值。
好运！
