It's the first gameweek of the 26/27 Europa League! Bournemouth travel to the Basque Country to take on Real Sociedad in a European competition for their first ever time! New, exciting adventures and experiences for their fans await them, their journey begins here... Real Sociedad are no strangers to Europe, in their past ten seasons they have qualified for a European competition seven times, six of them instances being for the Europa League. The highest they have ever reached in the Europa was the Quarter-Finals in 1988/99, most recently losing in the Round of 16 to Manchester United in the 24/25 season, where it was 4-1 on the night in the Theatre of Dreams (5-2 agg.). This season, La Real have had a mixed start in La Liga, with 2W, 1D and 3L inside the opening six games. Although, those losses came against giants Real Madrid (4-1) and Atletico Madrid (0-3), also high-flying Real Betis on the opening day (1-0). Txuri-urdin manager Pellegrino Matarazzo will be without veteran Alvaro Odriozola, who is set for the sidelines until at least late November, but he has a stacked squad to pick from despite that unfortunate loss. Real Sociedad still have elite marksman and newly World Cup winner in their armoury, Marc Oyarzabal, who Bournemouth will definitely have to do their best to shut down. As I have mentioned in the opening, Bournemouth have NEVER been in Europe throughout their history, so this is an absolutely historic day for them. Andoni Iraola set the Cherries sail for this course of history last season, before - unfortunately for them - jumping ship to Liverpool. With new manager Marco Rose, not much has changed except the man at the wheel of course. Some new faces have come in, like António Silva and Michele Di Gregorio, with the only really key outgoing being Marcos Senesi. The Cherries have started the season without a win in the league, however they have scored a range of goals. Ten in all competitions so far, which has earned them 3 draws in the Premier League, only losing to Manchester City away from home on the opening weekend (2-1). A Carabao Cup thumping to Championship side Lincoln (4-0) was also a big confidence boost for Marco Rose. Bournemouth will be without Amine Ãdil, Julian Araújo, Veljko Milosavljević and promising star Junior Kroupi to injury. Real Sociedad will be looking to begin their usual European venture with a good result, they have won 5 of their last 6 Europa League opening games, whereas the Cherries will be looking to impress on their European debut! Who do you back?