- Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK travel to Old Trafford in red-hot form
- Manchester United have been mixed lately, but Sabah can at least score
Tasty match in store at Old Trafford
The 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League will be a wide open competition and Sabah FK will give it a good go if they can spring a shock at Old Trafford on Thursday. Sabah FK are in excellent form ahead of the trip to England, winning eight of their last ten in all competitions and their last three in a row.
Valdas Dambrauskas, who has been in charge since 1 July 2025, has fashioned a team that plays with plenty of intent and a vertical 4-2-3-1 formation that is capable of getting wide and releasing forwards at pace.
The Red Devils, who are in the second half of a Michael Carrick reign that began on 13 January 2026, also play an up-tempo, front-foot game where they build through a narrow base. The contrasting styles of these two sides should ensure a back-and-forth battle where space is scarce, so we'll hope for a goal-laden contest and an upset.
Red Devils not playing well enough to win
Manchester United are in erratic form, with five wins, two draws and three defeats from their last ten matches in all competitions. They have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five, which doesn't suggest they are in any kind of rhythm.
We're going with a big hit on over 2.5 goals in this game, which is priced up at 1.25, but both teams to score at 1.95 also has some appeal. They've been in good scoring form at home, scoring 15 goals in their last five in all competitions.
Bryan Mbeumo has been a bright spark for United, scoring three of his side's ten goals across the last five matches, but Joy-Lance Mickels has been in top form for the visitors with four goals during their run of five wins and one defeat. Sabah have only conceded one goal in their last four away games in all competitions and we'll take them to land a punch or two against the hosts.
Sabah should have no fear having beaten Hapoel Beer-Sheva 5-2 after extra-time in their warm-up friendly for this clash, while they've won their last two games by 1-0 (a) and 5-0 (h) against Araz Nakhchivan PFK and FK Zira respectively.
