Manchester United make their Champions League return tonight after a three-year absence when they take on Sabah at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick led a remarkable resurgence across the second half of last season following the sacking of Ruben Amorim and their reward is a seat back at Europe’s top table.

They couldn’t have wished for a better opening fixture than against the Azerbaijani champions, who have come 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 by winning the equivalent of £725 on the Lithuanian version of TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Stats for Manchester United v Sabah

• United are set to face an Azerbaijani side for the first time ever in European competition.
• In major European competition, English teams have never lost against sides from Azerbaijan in 11 previous meetings (W10 D1), with all 11 coming against Qarabag between 2015-16 and 2025-26.
• United haven’t won their first game in any of their last four major European seasons (D1 L3) since winning 2-1 away at Paris Saint-Germain in their first game of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League.
• United last featured 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 L5).
• Sabah will feature in a major European competition for the first time in their history and become just the second team from Azerbaijan to play in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, following Qarabag (eliminated in group stage in 2017-18, reached play-offs in 2025-26).
• This game will be four years and 291 days since Carrick’s first Champions League game as manager, in his caretaker spell with United in November 2021 (2-0 win over 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 boss Dambrauskas will be the first ever Lithuanian to manage in the Champions League – he has 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 for 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 not playing for United (one every 89 minutes for Aston Villa and Barcelona) than he does while 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 to play 500+ minutes, only Ruud van Nistelrooy (one every 79 minutes) has scored or assisted more regularly.

Where to Watch Manchester United v Sabah: TV and online streams

Manchester United v Sabah kicks off at 8:00pm on Thursday. It will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and will be available to stream via HBO Max. Sky subscribers with a TNT package included can also stream the game via Sky Go.

If you live outside the UK, click the LINK HERE to find out where to watch it in your region.