The historic Old Trafford giants endured an inconsistent campaign last season, eventually sacking Rúben Amorim in the winter. He was replaced by Carrick, initially on an interim basis, and the former midfielder guided the team to third place. Having been given the job on a permanent basis, Michael began the new season with a shock 0-2 home defeat to Hull. They subsequently thrashed Ipswich 5-2, but then shared the points with Everton in a 2-2 draw.
The Baku club surprised everyone last season by overtaking even Qarabağ to win the championship. They began the new campaign with a victory, before thrashing Zira. They had already started their Champions League qualifying campaign earlier, successively eliminating The New Saints and KuPS with two wins each, followed by Aarhus and Hapoel Be’er Sheva, against whom they secured emphatic home victories after losing the away legs 1-2.
The English side are currently scoring 2.33 goals per match while conceding two. The Azerbaijanis, meanwhile, are averaging 2.67 goals scored per game domestically and have yet to concede on the domestic stage.
Head to Head matches: Manchester United vs Sabah
As expected, these relatively young visitors will be facing Manchester United for the first time.
The only question is how convincingly the English side will win at home. We are backing Manchester United with a -2.5-goal handicap (odds – 1.90).
Manchester United vs Sabah: key statistics and trends
Manchester United have won one of their three matches
67% of Manchester United’s matches have seen both teams score, with an average total of 4.33 goals per game
Sabah have won six matches in qualifying and suffered two defeats
Manchester United vs Sabah: Possible starting lineups
Manchester United play in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation (possible lineup): Lammens – Shaw, Martínez, Maguire, Dalot – Mainoo, Tielemans – Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo – Matheus Cunha
Sabah play in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation (possible lineup): Pokatilov – Pukhach, Dashdemirov, Solve, Zedadka – Lepinica, Rahmonaliyev – Nwachukwu, Simić, Parris – Mikkels
