The Danish club FC Midtjylland makes a trip to the Reale Arena as both clubs battle for victory in the second leg of their Europa League playoff against Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
Both teams will proceed to the last 16 of the competition after determining their combined score against Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United.
Real Sociedad remains in a position to advance to the last 16 of European competition for three straight seasons after their first-leg victory against Midtjylland by a 2-1 scoreline.
Midtjylland scored their goal through Adam Buksa in the last minutes of the first half to reduce their opponents' lead after Brais Mendez converted a penalty in the 11th minute and Takefusa Kubo scored midway through the first half. Real triumphed when the hosts tried to score an equalizing goal following halftime but the Spanish team from Real defended their Danish victory.
The side led by Imanol Alguacil lost their fourth-straight game when they let Real Betis defeat them 3-0 in La Liga last Sunday despite Igor Zubeldia's early booking followed by Sheraldo Becker's red card with 15 minutes remaining.
Real Sociedad faces an arduous task to qualify for next season's Europa League competition because their recent five losses in seven La Liga matches has pushed them to the 11th position with a 10-point deficit behind fifth place with only 14 games left in the season.
Real Sociedad sits at the top of their priority list for this Europa League season because they have successfully advanced to the knockout stage in eight of their previous nine European matches after winning the initial match.
Midtjylland managed to bounce back from last week's first-leg loss to Real Sociedad as they secured a narrow 1-0 home win over Lyngby in the Danish Superliga on Sunday, courtesy of a first-half penalty from Adam Buksa.
The reigning Danish top-flight champions currently sit level on points with leaders Copenhagen with just four games of the regular season remaining. Before they prepare for a top-of-the-table showdown on Sunday, the Wolves must shift their attention back to the Europa League.
Midtjylland, who finished 20th in the League Phase to squeeze into the Europa League playoffs by one point, travel to Spain on Thursday having failed to win any of their previous eight away matches in the knockout rounds of major European competition (D2 L6), despite scoring in seven of those.
Thomas Thomasberg's side have also been eliminated from each of their last four European ties when losing the first leg. A comeback victory over Real Sociedad would see them progress to the last 16 of the Europa League for the first time in their history, having previously fallen at this intermediate stage on three occasions.
