Manchester United vs Real Sociedad live stream, Thursday 8 September, 8pm
Manchester United will be looking to extend their winning run to five matches when they welcome Real Sociedad to Old Trafford on Thursday.
The Red Devils would rather not be in the Europa League this season. In truth they never got close to the top-four finish in the Premier League last term that would have booked their spot in the Champions League.
In fact, United were somewhat fortunate to qualify for this competition: had West Ham beaten Brighton on the final weekend, Erik ten Hag's team would be preparing for a Europa Conference League fixture right now.
Now that they are in the Europa League, however, we can expect United to take it seriously. That is not just because a reward for victory in this tournament is a place in next season's edition of the Champions League. It is also because winning a trophy - any trophy - cannot be dismissed with United having now gone more than five years without one.
The mood has lifted at Old Trafford over the last few weeks. United completed the signings of Casemiro and Antony in August to further bolster a squad which had already seen Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia added to it.
More significantly, Ten Hag has guided United to four consecutive wins in the Premier League, including against Liverpool and Arsenal. Their defeat of the latter last weekend was another demonstration of the manager's willingness to be pragmatic. United ceded possession, sat deep and hit the visitors to Old Trafford on the counter-attack. It paid off, as the Red Devils ended Arsenal's unbeaten start to the campaign.
Real Sociedad will provide another stern challenge on Thursday. They held Atletico Madrid to a 1-1 draw last time out and are among the teams with ambitions of finishing in the top four in La Liga. But if United can replicate their recent performances, they should prove too strong for the Basque outfit.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST on Thursday 8 September and is being shown on BT Sport 1. See below for international broadcast options.
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VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Europa League football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2022/23.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
Based in Canada? The way to watch Premier League football in 2022/23 is fuboTV, which has exclusive rights to all the action.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport will screen every game of the Premier League season. Non-subscribers can access the action via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Sky Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
