Man United v Sabah LIVE: Michael Carrick’s side make long-awaited Champions League return

A bit of pre-match viewing for you. The latest episode of our Copa Independent podcast sees the team discussing the Premier League sides’ chances in the Champions League.

Man United may have made a slow start to the Premier League, with only four points to show from their first three games, but Michael Carrick is optimistic for their chances in Europe.

He said: “I think we’re capable of doing some really good things in this competition and going further down the line in this competition, and then who knows when it gets to that stage. I’m not writing anything off.

“We’re delighted to be here, but we’re not here to just enjoy the occasion. We’re here to do business and go as far as we possibly can.

“We want to keep pushing, and the expectation is great. We want the expectation, we want the hope and the belief that we can achieve things quickly. That’s the ultimate challenge, you know. We’ve done an awful lot of good work to be here in a short space of time, and credit to the players for that.”

There is a question mark as to who will start at left-back for Man United tonight, with Luke Shaw a potential doubt.

Shaw sat out training on Wednesday and, while he was ever-present in the Premier League last season, United’s busier schedule has brought questions if the veteran can play every game.

“We just gave him an extra recovery day,” Carrick explained in his pre-match press conference.

“We’ll see how he is, but it’s not an ongoing thing or a plan or anything like that. It was just off the back of the game [at Everton] the other day. So each individual has kind of different little things that we manage and Luke was one of them today.”

Michael Carrick is an instant reminder of the glory days at Manchester United. The manager who returned them to the Champions League was a player who won it.

When United were the biggest club who were not in Europe last year, they turned to a man who conquered it. As they make their comeback in the Champions League, it is under a man who knows what it is like to win it and who hopes to experience it again.

There is an ambition to Carrick. He knows what United was and imagines what it could be again. An opener against the champions of Azerbaijan, Sabah, may be a far cry from some of his meetings with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and AC Milan, but Carrick hopes it is the start of something in the Champions League.

Read Richard Jolly’s full piece:

Sabah come into their Champions League debut with confidence after thrashing Zira 5-0 at the weekend, with Rwanda international Joy-Lance Mickels hitting a hat-trick, while Serbian striker Veljko Simic is set to start.

Sabah predicted XI: Pokatilov; Isayev, Dashdamirov, Solvet, Puchacz; Rakhmonaliyev, Lepinjica; Mutallimov, Simic, Nwachukwu; Mickels

Matthijs De Ligt (back), Amad Diallo (ankle), Manuel Ugarte (knee) and Tom Heaton (hamstring) remain injured for Man United, Carlos Baleba is still not ready either.

United have a 25-man A-List squad, though a B-List includes the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro. Marcus Rashford is carrying a knock after coming off against Everton and was “feeling a bit of something,” according to Michael Carrick.

Man United predicted XI: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

Kick-off at Old Trafford in the Champions League this evening is at 8pm BST.

The game will be shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with a live stream to be found on HBO Max. Coverage starts at 7pm BST.

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Manchester United vs Sabah.

United are back in the Champions League after more than 1,000 days away and have the champions of Azerbaijan as their first opponents.

Can Michael Carrick’s men get their European campaign off to the perfect start?