La Real in last-chance saloon as United visit

Real Sociedad de Fútbol are fighting to keep their UEFA Champions League campaign alive as they welcome Group A leaders Manchester United FC to San Sebastian.

• The Liga side's 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford on 23 October left them still without a point at the halfway stage in Group A and their elimination will be confirmed if they lose again – or even if they draw and Bayer 04 Leverkusen get the better of FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the group's other game in Ukraine.

Match background
• Unbeaten United arrive in northern Spain looking to strengthen their position at the Group A summit by recording a first European away win since a victory at SC Braga on 7 November last year.

• Jagoba Arrasate's home side, for their part, are looking to avoid setting a club-record sequence of four straight defeats in Europe.

• La Real lost 3-1 to Liverpool FC in their only previous home fixture against English opposition in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup second round. Carmelo Amas scored the home side's goal in a match featuring John Toshack, a future La Real manager, who would score the opening goal in Liverpool's subsequent 6-0 second-leg win.

• United's most recent visit to Spain was for a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid CF in last season's round of 16. Their overall record away to Liga clubs is W2 D9 L10.

• Javier Hernández hit the only goal when United last won in Spain, 1-0 at Valencia CF in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• This is United's third visit to the Basque region of Spain following two previous trips to nearby Bilbao to take on La Real's local rivals Athletic Club. The English title holders lost 2-1 there in the round of 16 of the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League – a result that completed a 5-3 aggregate loss in a tie where Wayne Rooney scored all of his side's goals. United had previously lost 5-3 to Athletic in the 1956/57 European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-finals but recovered to win the second leg 3-0.

• United lost UEFA Champions League finals against Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 having beaten the same opponents in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final.

Team ties
• As manager of Everton FC, David Moyes lost a 2005/06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Villarreal CF 4-2 on aggregate after 2-1 defeats in both legs.

• David de Gea featured in Club Atlético de Madrid's two Liga victories over La Real in 2010/11, winning 4-2 away and 3-0 at home.

• Robin van Persie and Carlos Vela were team-mates at Arsenal FC between 2008 and 2011. Vela replaced Van Persie as a late substitute in Arsenal's 3-1 second-leg home loss to United in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Vela never faced United in the Premier League, where he made 29 appearances for Arsenal, scoring three goals, and another eight on loan at West Bromwich Albion FC where he scored twice.

• Vela played alongside Hernández in Mexico's 2-0 defeat of Patrice Evra's France at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

• Evra featured in France's 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Spain with Les Bleus drawing 1-1 away in October last year before losing 1-0 at home in March.

• Haris Seferovic's Switzerland side took on a Spain featuring De Gea in qualifying for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship – the United keeper came out on top with a home win and away draw and two clean sheets. Seferovic had previously scored for Switzerland in a 3-2 UEFA European Under-19 Championship home defeat by England in June 2011.

• Van Persie was in the Netherlands side beaten by Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. With Arsenal he lost to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, scoring in a 2-1 first-leg victory but receiving a red card in a 3-1 second-leg defeat.

• Antonio Valencia spent 2005/06 in Spain, making two Liga appearances for Villarreal and another 12 in the second tier for RC Recreativo de Huelva.