United in Focus

Manchester United will kick-off this season’s Champions League campaign against Azerbaijan’s Sabah on Thursday, with Michael Carrick afforded a chance to rotate. After two seasons, Manchester United return to the Champions League this week with a favourable start to the competition on paper against Sabah.

United In Focus caught up with AnewZ reporter Katie Wilson to discuss how Azerbaijani media views Sabah FK’s unprecedented path to the Champions League ahead of Thursday’s match at Old Trafford. Manchester United face Azerbaijani opposition for the first time in the club’s history on Thursday night when Michael Carrick’s side hosts Sabah FK in the Champions League.

Michael Carrick is taking a huge risk this season, and Luke Shaw has again reminded him of the thin ice he’s walking on. After two seasons out of the competition, Man Utd will play the UCL anthem again at Old Trafford. Michael Carrick will take charge of his first game as the permanent Man Utd manager in this competition, but he’s doing it from a position of risk.

Manchester United are back in the Champions League and JJ Gabriel will be itching to make his European debut. In pre-season, JJ Gabriel made his Manchester United debut in a friendly against Atletico Madrid. He became the youngest-ever player to represent the Red Devils at 15 years and 299 days. Last season, Gabriel was too young to play in the Premier League, but that has changed in 2026/27.

Manchester United fans should not underestimate the teams that Michael Carrick’s men will face in the Champions League in the current campaign, according to new data. The Champions League draw for the 36 teams in the competition was held in August and Manchester United were matched with eight other clubs for the league phase. Man Utd will play four Champions League matches at home and Michael Carrick’s side will welcome Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah to Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick is seeing Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford rekindle their partnership this season, but a third teammate can turbocharge it. The start to the season hasn’t been the best for Man Utd, as they have dropped more points than they have won through three games. However, amongst those results, Marcus Rashford has started the season in great form, and his partnership with Luke Shaw has hit the ground running.

Michael Carrick’s remit of being “anyone but Ruben Amorim” wrote another chapter as he continues to repair the damage to Man Utd. The stakes are higher this season as Michael Carrick needs to show he’s more than just “anyone but Ruben Amorim” for Man Utd. The start to the season hasn’t been good, but he owes backing, especially from people who backed Amorim’s United, which was going nowhere.

It feels like an era ago when Ethan Wheatley was making his first-team debut at Man Utd on the back of a prolific season for the U21s. Since then, Man Utd’s recruitment drive has seen Ethan Wheatley become a forgotten man, going on one loan after another. There have been some senior minutes in pre-season, but it’s fair to say that the boat to make it at Old Trafford has sailed. His talent can be debated, but what’s indisputable is that Man Utd have completely failed him in more ways than one.

Manchester United have a stacked line-up of attacking talent for the 2026/27 season. This summer was focused on rebuilding Manchester United’s midfield, but last summer was all about an attacking overhaul. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko were all signed and now have a year of experience in red under their belt. The trio all netted 10+ goals last season and will hope to build on that tally in 2026/27.

Luke Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt were noticeable absentees from Manchester United’s training session on Wednesday morning. Manchester United are preparing to face Sabah FK in their Champions League opener on Thursday night. After taking four points from the first three Premier League matches of the season, United are looking to start their European campaign with a convincing win over the Azerbaijani outfit.