Europa League, group stage, Thursday, 13/02/2025 at 6:45 PM
A real novelty in European football: Midtjylland and Real Sociedad are meeting for the first time ever – and for both clubs it is the first time they have faced a team from the respective country.
That makes my Midtjylland Real Sociedad tip particularly exciting, because without direct comparisons, anything is possible. The “wolves” sense their chance, while the Basques want to improve their mediocre season. Who will prevail in this historic duel?
Somehow I can’t shake the feeling that we will be offered an outcome for this pairing, at least in the first leg, that the betting providers with a German license would not necessarily have expected.
It could well be that La Real won’t be able to be photographed in the famous winner’s pose by the press at the end!
Statistically, the Scandinavian “wolves” do not look particularly strong at first glance, but that does not automatically make them any less dangerous.
Danish teams have indeed only won two of their last 24 European matches against Spanish opponents (8 draws, 14 defeats).
Both successes came at the expense of Aalborg BK, which beat Deportivo La Coruña in both games in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup intermediate round.
After failing to survive the qualifying phase for the UECL last season, 2024/25 could be another season in which Midtjylland pulls off another coup. The potential for this is there!
The “Ulvene” have already made it to the knockout round of the Europa League twice. In 2015/16, they were knocked out 6-3 by Manchester United, and in 2022/23, their journey also ended in the intermediate round against Sporting CP (5-1 on aggregate).
Nevertheless, this shows that Midtjylland are no pushovers and know how to sell themselves well in Europe.
Of course, the new customer bonus from Bet365 also makes a strong impression. Click on the graphic to reveal the bonus code and use it when registering to get up to €100 in betting credits.
Don’t make the same mistake as the bookmakers and overestimate the Basques. Yes, “Txuri-Urdin” undoubtedly has a talented team, but their season has been rather mixed so far. They also tend to perform best in their own stadium.
In the Copa del Rey, they recently beat Osasuna 2-0 at home, and in the league they managed a 2-1 win against Espanyol – but it wasn’t really convincing. However, Real Sociedad is anything but a force to be reckoned with away from home.
Don’t forget: La Real have not won any of their last 13 major European knockout matches (4 draws, 9 defeats).
The last success in such a game was an eternity ago – in November 1998 against Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Cup intermediate round.
That means that anyone betting that the Txuri-Urdin will once again disappoint their supporters in an away European game next Thursday is not exactly taking a gamble from a statistical point of view.
Bottom line is that this is a game in which a bet on the supposed underdog could pay off. Midtjylland are strong at home, have nothing to lose and know how to play out of possession.
Real Sociedad, on the other hand, are under a lot of pressure precisely because of their poor knockout record in Europe. This could be on the minds of the players.
The relatively high odds for a useful result for the Danes are certainly interesting – and as you know, that’s often exactly what experienced sports betting professionals go for.
You could certainly interpret the fact that the Danish league is still in the winter break as a disadvantage for the hosts.
Consequently, Midtjylland have only had two competitive matches since the turn of the year, but they passed both with flying colors.
Consequently, I believe the hosts are capable of helping my Midtjylland Real Sociedad tip to succeed.
After activating the Bet365 bonus, I would select a simple double chance 1X bet at odds of around 1.78.
It shouldn’t be overly high-scoring on Thursday either, which is why I would add “Under 2.5 goals” to the betting slip at odds of around 1.75.
Conclusion: The betting providers are probably right – after the first leg and the second leg, the Basques should prove to be too strong for FCM.
However, that doesn’t mean that the first 90 minutes won’t end with a 0-0 or 1-1 draw – yes, maybe even with a 1-0 lead for the Ulveni – in the fiery Basque Country.
In any case, I consider a possible draw to be more likely than an away win for the Basques, who have lost four of their last five away games.
My Midtjylland v Real Sociedad betting tip: Double chance 1X.
