Man United face newcomers Sabah in the Champions League
By Ian King
The differences between Manchester United and Sabah FK are stark
Manchester United return to what they would presume to be their ‘rightful’ place in the Champions League off the back of an inconsistent start to their Premier League season. A bafflingly bad performance against Hull City was followed by a commanding win against Ipswich Town, but last week they were pegged back by a last-gasp equaliser by Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Sabah FK ended last season as the Champions of Azerbaijan for the first time. In fact, they ended 2025/26 having won a league and cup double. They won the league by nine points from Qarabağ, and they went unbeaten domestically from August to May. This season they’ve kicked off with three straight wins in the league, and last weekend they beat Zirə Futbol Klubu 5-0 in front of a crowd of 1,752. For reference, the capacity of Old Trafford is 74,158. To put it another way, the difference between these two clubs is enormous.
Sabah have already played eight games in the Champions League this season, though, having battled all the way through from the First Qualifying Round. They’ve already beaten British opposition, too, having beaten Welsh side TNS 2-0 and 2-1 in July. Since then, they’ve got past the Finnish side KuPS, the Danish side Aarhus, and Hapoel Be’er Sheva from Israel, to get here, so at least they’ll arrive in Manchester warmed up in this particular competition.
This is Sabah’s fourth consecutive season of European football
These two sides have never played each other before, and Manchester United have never played Azerbaijani opposition before, either. Sabah were only formed ten years ago, but this is their fourth consecutive season of European football, though it’s their first time in the Champions League. Meanwhile, this season marks Manchester United’s return to European football after having failed to qualify a year earlier, the first time they’d failed to do so in 11 years.
Manchester United’s standout player so far in 2026/27 is the same one as for the whole of 2025/26
With the most goals scored, the highest average Fotmob rating and the most distance covered on the pitch, club captain Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United’s standout player so far this season, just as he was last time around. Head coach Michael Carrick could be tempted to give a player or two a rest against modest opposition tonight, but his captain will surely start.
There aren’t many familiar names in the Sabah squad, but two of their players have some degree of experience of English football. Polish left-back Tymoteusz Puchacz played 18 games on loan for Plymouth Argyle from the German side Holstein Kiel in 2025, while Nigerian winger Christian Nwachukwu signed for Sheffield United from the Bulgarian side Botev Plovdiv in 2025, failed to make a single appearance for them, and was sold to Sabah for an undisclosed fee in the summer.
Their form player is Joy-Lance Mickels, a once-capped Rwandan international striker who’s already scored eight goals this season, four of which came in their Champions League qualifiers.
With City at the weekend, United may shuffle their pack for this match
Manchester United have a derby match against City at the weekend, so Carrick will likely rest a handful of players, with possible cameos for any – or all – of Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, Andrey Santos or Benjamin Šeško. Sabah have no injury issues – which is handy, given this is the biggest night in the short history of the club!
This should be a comfortable win for Manchester United, and there’ll be hell to pay if it isn’t
In terms of resources, these two clubs exist in different universes, and anything other than a win for Manchester United tonight would be an abject humiliation for the club. The good news for United supporters is that there’s little evidence to suggest that there’s any chance of this not happening.
Defensive performances – which have seen them concede six goals in their opening three Premier League matches – have been sub-par, but they’ve scored seven in their last two games and their opponents have already won a huge victory merely by getting this far in the first place.
But this is the first game of Michael Carrick’s first real test as United’s head coach. Without European football and with early eliminations from both domestic cups last season, Carrick had a clear run in the Premier League, but this season he has to juggle the eight matches of the Champions League megagroup, and far greater tests await, including Atlético Madrid, Roma and Bayern Munich.
It’s clear that their back line can be got at, and this makes it difficult to predict a clean sheet for them at the moment, no matter who the opposition. But this should still be a comfortable evening for them to ease back into the rhythm of European football, so I’ll go for a 4-1 United win, though I do feel a little as though I’m pulling a number out of a hat in terms of the number of goals they might score.
And if United don’t win comfortably, tensions may well start to significantly rise again ahead of their weekend showdown against that lot.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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