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Duo return and midfield decision made - Manchester United predicted line-up vs Real Sociedad

Manchester United's players gather inside the Old Trafford tunnel ahead of a pre-match warm-up.

Patrick Dorgu (left) and Manuel Ugarte will both be eyeing starts.

Manchester United will be looking to keep their Europa League hopes alive when they welcome Real Sociedad to Old Trafford on Thursday night.

The round-of-16 tie is finely poised at 1-1 following last week's first leg in San Sebastián. United took the lead in Spain via Joshua Zirkzee but soon saw his goal wiped out by a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty.

United have played since last Thursday's stalemate at the Reale Arena, drawing 1-1 with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday. They once again took the lead but failed to hold on despite producing an encouraging second half performance.

Ahead of the visit of Imanol Alguacil's side, United boss Ruben Amorim confirmed Manuel Ugarte is back in contention following his recent injury, but both Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire will miss out.

Andre Onana is expected to start in goal as he goes in search of his first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on January 26. He has featured seven times in the Europa League this season.

Patrick Dorgu will make another brief return from his three-game domestic ban, meaning he should start at left wing-back. His inclusion is likely to see Diogo Dalot move back to the right-sided wing-back role.

Noussair Mazraoui can move into the back three. The Moroccan is most likely to operate alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Victor Lindelof, but Ayden Heaven will be pushing for his first start for the club after another bright cameo against Arsenal.

Depending on his fitness levels, Amorim will almost certainly be tempted to throw Ugarte straight back into the centre of midfield. He has missed the last two games, last featuring against Fulham in the FA Cup on March 2.

However, he may not be prepared to take too big a risk, meaning Casemiro could retain his place in the centre alongside Bruno Fernandes. The latter has been more effective from a deeper position in recent weeks.

In attack, Rasmus Hojlund could return after starting the draw with Arsenal on the bench. He will be desperate to end his 20-game goal drought by adding to the five goals he has scored in the Europa League already this season.

If the Dane starts, Zirkzee could drop back into the left-sided No.10 position, with Alejandro Garnacho continuing from the opposite side.

United predicted XI vs Real Sociedad: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Lindelof; Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Garnacho, Zirkzee; Hojlund.

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