Manchester United Host Sabah in Champions League Return — SkimNews
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- Manchester United face Sabah FK at Old Trafford on Thursday, Sept. 9 (3 p.m. ET, Paramount+), in their first Champions League match since 2023 under permanent manager Michael Carrick, with United listed as -900 favorites vs Sabah at +2200.
- Sabah FK, founded just nine years ago and required to enter from the first qualifying round, are led by Lithuanian manager Valdas Dambrauskas, who used his 2002 appearance on Lithuania's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' to bankroll a move to England to start his coaching career.
- United's league-phase draw pits them against Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Roma, Sporting CP, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Como, and Sabah — and Carrick told his pre-match press conference: 'It means an awful lot... challenging yourself against the elite and the very best.'
- Bruno Fernandes enters the match as a Ballon d'Or finalist after breaking the Premier League's single-season assists record last season, though the source notes he alone 'can't bring United back to where they want to be.'
- United's injury list removes Amad Diallo, Manuel Ugarte, Carlos Baleba, and Matthijs de Ligt, pushing Marcus Rashford into a wing role as the club faces their first-ever Champions League opponent from Azerbaijan, while Sabah arrive off a five-goal victory of their own.
Why it matters: Carrick's first Champions League test comes against the weakest team on United's league-phase slate, with a Manchester derby looming this weekend — anything short of a dominant win over the +2200 underdogs would intensify scrutiny of United's lack of depth and poor set-piece defense before the tougher ties against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid arrive.
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