Royale Union Saint-Gilloise will look to build on their matchday one win in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) against a Real Sociedad looking to make amends after they lost their opener.
Match News and Current Form
Union Saint-Gilloise made light work of Viktoria Plzeň on matchday one, romping to a 3-0 win on Czech soil to fuel belief they can bypass the UEL group stage/league phase in a fourth successive appearance. That victory gives the Belgian outfit the opportunity to win back-to-back matches in the same European campaign for the first time since January 2025, and six wins from their last seven competitive matches suggest they’re more than capable of doing so. Although playing at Leuven’s King Power at Den Dreef stadium due to their own ground not meeting UEFA standards perhaps harms their chances somewhat, Union Saint-Gilloise are unbeaten in 19 games as the designated home team (W15, D4) so are unlikely to be deterred by a change of venue.
Sociedad’s UEL campaign got off to the worst possible start as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Bournemouth, leaving them staring down the barrel of back-to-back defeats to begin a European main draw campaign for the first time since 2013/14. They’ve managed to bounce back from that disappointment with successive La Liga wins since, both by a 3-2 scoreline after they downed Deportivo A Coruña on Sunday. That’s the kind of form they’ll have to quickly rediscover in this competition if they’re to go beyond the group stage/league phase in a sixth successive UEL appearance, but three defeats from their last four away games in this competition (W1) are unlikely to raise hopes.
Head-to-Head History
Union Saint-Gilloise have only ever played a Spanish side once, losing 3-1 to Atlético Madrid in last season’s UEFA Champions League, while Sociedad have never beaten a Belgian club in three previous attempts (D1, L2).
Hot Stats and Streaks
Union Saint-Gilloise haven’t conceded after half-time in their last eight games.
Union Saint-Gilloise scored after the break in each of their last seven matches.
Sociedad’s last seven UEL away games saw both teams score.
Seven of Sociedad’s last eight matches featured over 2.5 goals.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Union Saint-Gilloise’s Mateo Biondic scored his first-ever UEL goal against Viktoria Plzeň, with the Belgian side winning on all seven of his scoring appearances for the club. Gonçalo Guedes has been on the losing side in just one of his nine scoring appearances for Sociedad (W6, D2), with seven of those outings producing a second-half goal.
Union Saint-Gilloise will be without the suspended Raul Florucz and Adem Zorgane, while Sociedad seemingly have no fresh absentees.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
Goals usually aren’t in short supply where Sociedad are concerned, so backing both teams to score and over 2.5 goals could bear fruit.
Author: Alex Bowmer
