Both under Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, things have steadily gone from bad to worse, and not to put too fine a point on it, a Europa League triumph could actually save their season.
Indeed, it's in Europe where the Red Devils have found some kind of solace in the current campaign because during the league stage of that competition this season, they remained the only unbeaten side.
16 goals scored was only bettered by Galatasaray's 19 and the 17 that both Lazio and Tottenham plundered.
It's an almost complete reversal of form in the Premier League, stuck as United are way down in 14th place and having lost 12 of their 27 matches to date in 24/25. Goalscoring-wise, the northwest giants have just 33 on the board and only the bottom three in the English top-flight plus Everton and West Ham have a worse output.
Real Sociedad stand in their way of progression to the Europa League quarter-finals and Thursday night's match promises much, but history does favour the Red Devils.
For a start, La Real have won just one of their previous six European encounters against United (drawing two and losing three), with that win coming in the group stage of this competition at Old Trafford back in September 2022.
Furthermore, They have never beaten an English side on home soil in Europe (D1 L3), and have even failed to score in each of the last three matches in that regard - all against United.
Amorim's side are averaging 18.8 shots per game in the competition this season, which is the most of any side still left in it, and it's also their best ratio in a European season on record (since 2003-04).
In their favour too is that United have lost just one of their last eight away games against Spanish opposition in Europe, winning five and drawing two.
Goals are almost guaranteed in this game given that the LaLiga outfit are one of six sides to score in 100% of their UEFA Europa League games this season (10/10), with the Premier League giants also doing so (8/8).
Undoubtedly, captain Bruno Fernandes will be the tempo setter for the visitors, and his teammates will be looking for him to be popping balls off left and right in order to tire Sociedad's defence.
He has been a consistent man-of-the-match performer for the Red Devils, including against Ipswich Town recently, where his industry can be fully understood by examining the pass graphic below.
In all competitions, the Portuguese leads the scoring and assist charts too (11 and 13 respectively), but he can't be expected to do it all.
The likes of Alejandro Garnacho (8G 6A), Joshua Zirkzee (5G 2A) and Rasmus Hojlund (7G 1A) need to weigh in much more heavily in this regard.
Hojlund in particular has found easier pickings in Europe with five of his seven goals being scored in the competition, and that may give the 22-year-old confidence when he walks out onto the Anoeta Stadium pitch.
Garnacho's pace could certainly cause Sociedad problems, and his 15 fast breaks are the most of any United player this season.
If United are to capitalise on that, however, they need to get their shooting boots on.
Christian Eriksen has the highest shooting accuracy in the squad with 75%, but can't be considered as a regular starter at this stage. Then comes the perenially injured Mason Mount with 66.7% accuracy followed by Matthijs de Ligt - a centre-back - with 58.8%.
108 chances created by Bruno Fernandes is once again a squad-leading statistic and exactly double the 54 of the next-best in this category, Amad Diallo.
A combative game might be expected too, and that's where Noussair Mazraoui has come into his own with 127 tackles made, 75 of which have been won. Manuel Ugarte can rely on his own physicality and it's no surprise that he's made 90 tackles, the next best in the squad this season. He could do with upping his 53.3% success rate, however, as only 48 of those exchanges have been won by the Uruguayan.
Sociedad, despite scoring in every game in the competition so far this season, have only managed 23 goals in 27 LaLiga games in 2024/25, the joint second-worst output in the Spanish top-flight.
55 goals in total across all competitions in the current campaign haven't been evenly spread throughout the squad either, with only 12 players sharing goalscoring duties.
If United can therefore shut down the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal (nine goals), Brais Mendez (eight goals), Orri Oskarsson (seven goals) and Ander Barrenetxea (seven goals), the chances are the Basque giants won't have too much else to offer in an attacking sense.
Both teams like to get their foot on the ball and play too which should make for a pleasing spectacle on the night. Just eight players in Imanol Alguacil's entire squad have a pass completion rate of less than 80%, but United fare even better in this regard with only five players below that threshold.
United could certainly do with the confidence boost that a win over the two legs of this tie would provide, and while the prize remains within reach, every player in a red shirt has to believe that a title can be achieved.
Just as Sir Alex Ferguson - on the verge of being sacked - needed an FA Cup win back in 1990 to kickstart his epic reign at Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim could see the glory days return to the Theatre of Dreams if his side can go all the way in this season's Europa League.
