Real Sociedad play host to Lyon

The Anoeta Stadium will play host to a fascinating Europa League, as Real Sociedad welcome Lyon in the league stage of the tournament.

Real Sociedad are currently 14th in the overall table, picking up four points from three matches, while Lyon are 12th, collecting six points from three games.

Real Sociedad were outstanding in their last Europa League fixture on October 22, recording a 6-0 victory over Lillestrom, with that result following a 2-1 home loss to Bournemouth and a 1-1 draw with Union SG in this season’s league stage.

Four points from three games has left them in 14th spot in the division, and they have matches after this one against Crystal Palace, Torreense, Viktoria Plzen and Juventus.

Pellegrino Matarazzo‘s side will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby, so they will be fired-up to bounce back on Thursday.

Real Sociedad will be without the services of Luken Beitia, Alvaro Odriozola and Arsen Zakharyan through injury.

Luka Sucic is actually the team’s leading goalscorer this season, coming up with six goals in 13 appearances, and he is set to continue in the final third of the field.

This is a difficult match to call, but home advantage could help Real Sociedad secure a valuable three points on Thursday evening.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Juventus and AZ Alkmaar  vying for automatic qualification to this season’s last 16

One point apart in the Europa League table, Juventus and AZ Alkmaar are both vying for automatic qualification to this season’s last 16.

Set to meet at AFAS Stadion this evening, Juve have started strongly, but AZ boast a long unbeaten home record in UEFA competition.

More accustomed to dining at Europe’s top table, Juventus started their Europa League campaign with a 5-0 cruise at home to NEC, before being made to work much harder for victory over Celta Vigo on match day two.

Since then, it has been quite a mixed bag in Serie A, as the Bianconeri beat Lecce 2-0, then lost to Genoa by the same scoreline, setting up a tense clash with Napoli on Sunday night.

In contrast to their domestic woes, Juventus have lost just one of their last 10 continental games, while scoring at least twice in eight – so they may welcome a return to the Europa League.

They may have made minimal progress in Serie A since Spalletti arrived one year ago, but Juventus are still a force at Europa League level.

With a little luck, the Bianconeri could even threaten AZ’s long unbeaten streak on home turf, but the spoils will most likely be shared.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Leverkusen perfect record comes under threat against Marseille

Bayer Leverkusen‘s perfect Europa League record comes under threat again when Marseille travel to face them at BayArena.

The hosts boast three wins from three in Europe so far, and their tally of nine points means they are second in the league-phase table, whereas visitors Marseille are third last in 34th place with no points.

Leverkusen’s previous match in the Europa League was a 2-0 victory against OFI Crete on October 22, and they have now scored eight goals and kept three clean sheets in the tournament.

Carles Martinez‘s side have since played three games in all competitions, losing twice in the Bundesliga while beating Nurnberg 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal on October 28.

Their latest result was a 4-2 league defeat against Stuttgart on Saturday, and that loss left them sixth in the top flight with 13 points after eight matchweeks.

Die Werkself’s clash with Stuttgart ended their perfect record at home, with the club having won their first five games at BayArena in 2026-27.

Marseille’s campaign has been far from straightforward, though they have at least started to find form in Ligue 1 given they have won their past four fixtures in the division.

Leverkusen may have struggled for consistency in domestic football, but they have been excellent in Europe so far.

Despite their injury woes, the hosts should still believe they can beat Marseille.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Getafe, Brighton clash in Conference League

Brighton & Hove Albion will continue their Conference League league stage campaign with a clash against La Liga outfit Getafe .

The Premier League side are ninth in the overall table, picking up four points from two matches, while Getafe are 30th, claiming one point from their first two games.

Getafe opened their 2026-27 Conference League league stage campaign with a 1-1 draw against Univ. Craiova on October 15 before losing 5-2 to Lugano last time out, with one point from two matches leaving them in 30th spot in the overall table.

The La Liga outfit will enter this match off the back of a 3-1 win over Sevilla, while they also beat Lebrijana in the Copa del Rey on October 29, with the hosts entering this contest off the back of successive victories.

This is Getafe’s first-ever campaign in the Conference League, and it would be a surprise if they were not present in the knockout round given the strength of their squad.

Getafe will also take on Iberia 1999, Inter Escaldes and Ajax before the end of the league stage.

Brighton, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 victory over Manchester City, with the Seagulls flying in the Premier League this season.

Getafe should be a strong team in the Conference League this season, but Brighton are flying, and we are expecting the Seagulls to secure all three points on Thursday.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk