Manchester United will return to the Champions League tonight after a three-year absence when they face each other Sabah at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick led a remarkable revival in the second half of last season following the sacking of Ruben Amorim and his reward is a back seat at Europe’s top table.
They couldn’t have wished for a better opening game than against the Azerbaijan champions, who have gone through four qualifying rounds to reach this stage for the first time.
The visitors are led by Valdas Dambrauskas, who earned enough money to start his coaching career in England. winning the equivalent of £725 on the Lithuanian version of the TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Manchester United vs Sabah Stats
- United will face an Azerbaijani team in European competition for the first time.
- In Europe’s top competitions, English sides have never lost against Azerbaijani sides in 11 previous meetings (10 wins, 1 draw), with all 11 coming against Qarabag between 2015-16 and 2025-26.
- United have not won their opening game in any of their last four major European seasons (D1 D3) since winning 2-1 away to Paris Saint-Germain in their 2020-21 UEFA Champions League opener.
- United last played in the Champions League in the 2023-24 campaign, when they were eliminated in the group stage. The Red Devils have won just one of their last nine games in the competition (D3 D5).
- Sabah will take part in a major European competition for the first time in their history and become only the second team from Azerbaijan to play in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, after Qarabag (eliminated in the group stage in 2017-18, reached the play-offs in 2025-26).
- This game will mark four years and 291 days since Carrick’s first Champions League game as manager, in his interim spell with United in November 2021 (2-0 win at Villarreal). Only Gian Piero Gasperini (8y 4d, 2011-19), Vincenzo Montella (6y 350d, 2011-18) and Sergei Semak (5y 182d, 2014-19) have had a bigger gap between their first two games.
- Sabah manager Dambrauskas will be the first Lithuanian to face the Champions League – having lost five of his seven major European games (W1 D1) during spells with Ludogorets and Omonia Nicosia. The last Lithuanian player to feature in the Champions League was Deividas Semberas in December 2011 with CSKA Moscow.
- Rashford has been involved in 25 goals in 48 Champions League appearances (17 goals, 8 assists). However, Rashford averages a goal or assist more regularly away from United (one every 89 minutes for Aston Villa and Barcelona) than when playing for the Red Devils (one every 135 minutes).
- Bruno Fernandes has been involved in 15 goals in 19 Champions League appearances for United (6 goals, 9 assists), scoring or assisting every 100 minutes. Among players who have played more than 500 minutes, only Ruud van Nistelrooy (one every 79 minutes) has scored or assisted more regularly.
Where to watch Manchester United vs Sabah: TV and online streaming
Manchester United-Sabah kicks off at 8pm on Thursday. It will air on TNT Sports 1 and will be available to stream via HBO Max. Sky subscribers with an included TNT package can also stream the game via Sky Go.
If you live outside the UK, click LINK HERE to find out where to watch it in your region.
