Manchester United vs Sabah FK Preview

Manchester United host Sabah FK at Old Trafford on Thursday as both sides open their Champions League league phase campaigns in very different circumstances.

United have won 2 of their last 5 games and arrive with mixed form heading into their European opener. Their most recent result was a 2-2 home draw with Everton where they conceded right at the end. Before that, a positive 5-2 home win over Ipswich, a 0-2 away defeat at Hull were two mixed Premier League results. Earlier in this run, a 2-4 home defeat to AC Milan, and a win on penalties over Leeds after a 1-1 draw in a friendly.

Sabah, by contrast, have won 4 of their last 5 games and arrive full of confidence after a strong summer. Their most recent outing was a 5-0 home win over Zira. Prior to that, a 1-0 away win at Araz. Before that, a 5-2 extra-time win over Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Champions League qualifiers. Earlier in this run, a 2-1 home defeat to Hapoel Beer Sheva, and a 2-0 home win over Kapaz.

These two sides have never met before so there is no head-to-head history to draw on ahead of this one.

Both clubs go into this one with a clean slate at the start of the league phase, so there’s no points gap to speak of yet — United were placed 5th and Sabah at 36th heading into the draw. United are overwhelming favourites on paper despite their own inconsistent recent form.

In the UK, the match is live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, and available to stream via HBO Max. In the United States, viewers can catch the action on Paramount+ and DAZN USA. The game is also available in Germany on DAZN Germany.

Possible Lineups

Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo, Tielemans, Fernandes, Mbeumo, Cunha, Rashford

Sabah FK Pokatilov, Dashdamirov, Isayev, Lepinjica, Mickels, Mutallimov, Nwachukwu, Puchacz, Rakhmonaliyev, Simic, Solvet

Manchester United Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
🤝	Everton	2-2	Manchester Utd	PL	06.09.26
✅	Manchester Utd	5-2	Ipswich	PL	30.08.26
❌	Hull	2-0	Manchester Utd	PL	22.08.26
❌	Manchester Utd	2-4	AC Milan	CF	15.08.26
✅	Manchester Utd	1(5)-1(4)	Leeds	CF	12.08.26

Sabah FK Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Sabah Baku	5-0	Zira	PL	05.09.26
✅	Araz	0-1	Sabah Baku	PL	31.08.26
✅	Sabah Baku	5-2	H. Beer Sheva	CL	25.08.26
❌	H. Beer Sheva	2-1	Sabah Baku	CL	19.08.26
✅	Sabah Baku	2-0	Kapaz	PL	15.08.26

Head-to-Head

No previous meetings between these sides.

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	TNT Sports 1 / TNT Sports Ultimate / HBO Max
Ireland Republic	TNT Sports 1 / HBO Max
USA	Paramount+ / DAZN USA
Germany	DAZN Germany
Italy	Sky Sport 254 / NOW TV
Spain	Movistar+ / Movistar Liga de Campeones 2
France	myCANAL / Canal+ Live 3
Canada	DAZN Canada / fuboTV Canada
Australia	Stan Sport

Table

POS.	TEAM	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Arsenal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Aston Villa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Liverpool	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Manchester City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Manchester United	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Lille	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	PSG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Napoli	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	LASK Linz	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Slavia Praha	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Club Brugge	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Lens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Slovan Bratislava	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Bayern München	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Borussia Dortmund	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Roma	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Internazionale	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	PSV	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Feyenoord	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Real Madrid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	Villarreal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	Barcelona	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	Atlético Madrid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	Real Betis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	Porto	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	Stuttgart	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	AEK Athens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	Viking	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	Bodø / Glimt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	Sporting CP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	Galatasaray	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	Fenerbahçe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	Shakhtar Donetsk	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	Como	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	RB Leipzig	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	Sabah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0