Manchester United begin their first Champions League campaign in three seasons when they host Azerbaijani champions Sabah on Thursday, with manager Michael Carrick under pressure to oversee a positive start despite ongoing defensive problems.
The 20-time English champions were absent from European competition altogether in 2025-26, the first time that had happened since the 2014-15 season. Their meeting with Sabah will therefore mark their return to the Champions League and their 26th appearance in the competition, a record for an English club.
United’s recommended prediction is a 3-1 victory, with odds of 9.25. Bryan Mbeumo is also listed at 1.80 to score, while Bruno Fernandes is priced at 1.95 to provide an assist.
Carrick’s side come into the game after a 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday. They have collected four points from their opening three Premier League matches and sit 11th in the table, five points behind leaders Manchester City.
There is considerable expectation on Carrick to deliver a strong European campaign, although winning the Champions League this season would be regarded as an unrealistic ambition. United finished fourth in their group in 2023-24, behind Bayern Munich, with Copenhagen and Galatasaray also in the section.
The club have won the European Cup or Champions League three times. Their first success came in 1968, followed by triumphs in 1999 and 2008. Their most recent appearance in the knockout stages was in 2021-22, when they were eliminated by Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
During this season’s league phase, United will also face Atletico Madrid, Como, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Villarreal.
Sabah have already played eight Champions League matches this season after beginning their qualifying campaign in early July. They defeated The New Saints, KuPS, Aarhus and Hapoel Be’er Sheva across the qualifying rounds to reach the league phase for the first time in the club’s history.
The Azerbaijani side arrive in Manchester after a 5-0 domestic victory over Zira. Managed by Valdas Dambrauskas, Sabah are the reigning champions of Azerbaijan and have made an unbeaten start to their domestic campaign, taking nine points from three matches to lead the league.
Sabah are one of four clubs making their debut in the Champions League league phase this season, alongside Como, LASK and Viking. They have won six of their eight matches in the competition so far and kept four clean sheets.
That record gives the visitors reason for confidence, particularly as United have won only one of their past seven Champions League group-stage matches and lost four of them. The Red Devils’ defensive uncertainty could offer Sabah an opportunity, although United will expect their greater experience to prove decisive.
Manchester United’s recent form in all competitions is listed as draw, win, draw. Sabah’s Champions League record is win, win, loss, win, loss, win, while their overall form is win, win, loss, win, win, win.
Team news
United will be without Matthijs de Ligt, who has a back problem, and Manuel Ugarte, who is recovering from a knee injury. Carlos Baleba and Amad Diallo are both sidelined with ankle injuries, while Tom Heaton is unavailable because of a hamstring issue.
Marcus Rashford is also a doubt after being substituted during the second half against Everton because of a minor discomfort.
Carrick is expected to rotate his team with Sunday afternoon’s Manchester derby against Manchester City in mind. Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, Andrey Santos and Benjamin Sesko could all come into the starting XI.
Sesko increased his minutes as a substitute against Everton and scored late in the match. He is now in contention to start against Sabah.
The visitors have no injury concerns and can select from a fully fit squad for their trip to Old Trafford.
Joy-Lance Mickels has been Sabah’s standout attacking player this season, scoring eight goals and providing one assist in 11 appearances. The 32-year-old is expected to lead the line, with Veljko Simic another major threat after registering seven goals and one assist.
Kaheem Parris is also expected to start for the Azerbaijani champions.
Manchester United’s predicted XI is: Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Martinez, Mazraoui; Santos, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko.
Sabah’s predicted XI is: Pokatilov; Solvet, Dashdamirov, Puchacz, Zedadka; Rakhmonaliev, Isaev, Lepinjica, Parris; Mickels, Simic.
A United clean sheet appears difficult to predict given their current defensive weaknesses, but the expectation is that the hosts will open their Champions League campaign with a victory.