Man United to begin Champions League campaign on a winning note
Manchester United will be aiming to begin their 2026-27 Champions League league phase campaign on a winning note when they welcome Azerbaijani outfit Sabah on Thursday night.
This is Man United’s first Champions League campaign in three seasons, while it will be the first time that Sabah have competed at this level of European football.
Man United were absent from European competition in 2025-26 for the first time since 2014-15, and this will represent their first Champions League campaign in three seasons and their 26th overall, which is an English record.
Man United will also take on Atletico Madrid, Como, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Villarreal in the league phase of this season’s Champions League.
The 20-time English champions will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday; four points have been secured from three games this season, which has left them in 11th spot in the Premier League table, five points off leaders Manchester City.
Carrick is expected to make changes to his side ahead of the Manchester derby against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, with Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, Andrey Santos and Benjamin Sesko potentially being introduced.
It is difficult to predict a clean sheet for Man United given their defensive frailties, but we are expecting the Red Devils to get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Bayern Munich welcome Bodo/Glimt to the Allianz Arena
Heavyweights Bayern Munich will kick off their Champions League campaign on Thursday, when they welcome Bodo/Glimt to the Allianz Arena for their first league-phase clash.
The Bavarians are expecting to continue their unbeaten start to the season, though Superlaget are dreaming of an eighth consecutive victory across all competitions.
Vincent Kompany‘s Bayern reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, and will be hoping to make a strong beginning on the road to this term’s showpiece in Madrid.
The Bavarians opened 2026-27 with three domestic wins on the bounce, including a 2-1 victory over Der Klassiker rivals Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup on August 22.
However, that streak was brought to an end on Saturday, when promoted club Schalke 04 held Kompany’s side to a 0-0 stalemate.
Bayern will be keen to get back to winning ways in midweek, an ambition bolstered by the fact they have come out on top in their opening fixture across each of their last 22 Champions League campaigns.
Additionally, the hosts have lost just once on home turf in 2026, collecting 15 wins while drawing only twice, and any other outcome than three points for the Bavarians on Thursday will be seen as a failure.
Jamal Musiala should be on hand to start in the number 10 role, flanked by Michael Olise and Luis Diaz behind striker Harry Kane. Bayern may have been held to a 0-0 draw by Schalke at the weekend, but they should have more than enough to come out on top on Thursday.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Champions League debutants Como host RB Leipzig
Capping their meteoric rise by bringing Champions League football to little Stadio Singaglia, debutants Como will host RB Leipzig on Thursday evening.
After spending big to join Europe’s elite, the Italian club are following in the footsteps of fellow outsiders Leipzig, who went all the way to the semi-finals six years ago.
Not only are Como embarking on their first Champions League campaign, but it is also their first in any UEFA competition, following a club-record fourth placed finish in Serie A last season.
Surging to the line with four wins from their final five games was enough to snatch a precious top-four spot ahead of established giants AC Milan and Juventus.
It marked an incredible achievement for a team that had only been promoted back to Italy’s top tier two years before, and were languishing down in Serie D as recently as 2019.
Led by Cesc Fabregas, they also reached their first Coppa Italia semi-final, narrowly losing on aggregate to eventual winners Inter Milan after a late second-leg collapse at San Siro.
Como’s super-rich owners are starting to see serious returns on their investment: only Inter have accrued more points this calendar year, and the Lariani have just beaten both Napoli and Genoa away from home.
Serie A‘s biggest spenders since 2024, they have built a squad packed with attacking talent – including key creator Nico Paz and top scorer Tasos Douvikas – but also kept a league-high 19 clean sheets last term.
There may be more Champions League experience within Leipzig’s squad, but Como have developed into a slick machine under Fabregas and could prove difficult to stop.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Fenerbahce & Roma make long-awaited return to the Champions League
Making a long-awaited return to the Champions League, Fenerbahce and Roma will clash at Sukru Saracolglu Stadium on Thursday.
Both were regular fixtures in UEFA’s other club competitions, but they are now finally back in the big time.
Having lost nine times in qualifying since their sixth appearance in 2008, Fenerbahce were simply desperate to reach the Champions League’s main phase this season.
The Turkish giants were dumped out by Benfica last summer, which prompted Jose Mourinho’s dramatic exit and the arrival of Domenico Tedesco.
Despite Tedesco’s best efforts, Fener still missed out on the Super Lig title to their city rivals Galatasaray, leading to the appointment of current coach Ismail Kartal.
The latter first guided the Yellow Canaries past Gornik Zabrze and Sturm Graz in qualifying rounds two and three, before winning a fiesty playoff tie against Lyon.
Fener have played 154 games in UEFA competition since they last featured in the Champions League, but that wait for a seat at Europe’s top table is finally over.
However, they must head into the league phase following a slow start to their domestic campaign, having lost to Genclerbirligi on the opening matchday.
Including qualifiers, Fenerbahçe have only lost five of their last 32 home matches in European competition – while winning 20 – but they did lose to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest at the Sukru Saracoglu last season.
Lyon also left with a draw in the playoff round, so in-form Roma should take something back with them to Italy, given their significant goal threat.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
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