Who are the Sabah players? Champions League debutants take on Manchester United

Formed in 2017, the champions of Azerbaijan are set to become the youngest side in history to play in Europe’s top continental competition, with Old Trafford the scene of their bow.

Very much exploring new surroundings, Sabah - who play out of the 9,000-seater Bank Respublika Arena in Mazasir - become just the second Azerbaijani side ever to qualify for the Champions League, following Qarabag’s recent exploits.

It was not an easy journey for the debutants who won the Azerbaijani league last year, nine points ahead of Qarabag.

That only earned them a spot in the qualifying rounds of this competition.

Since then, they have come through four ties, the most recent being against Hapoel Beer-Sheva of Israel, winning in extra time to book a place amongst Europe’s elite.

Valdas Dambrauskas’ side have started their domestic season with three wins from three, and no goals conceded to sit in a familiar position at the top of the league table.

Standard Sport looks at the players likely to line out for Sabah’s Champions League debut against Man Utd...

Who are the Sabah FK players?

Stas Pokatilov: Veteran Kazakhstan goalkeeper joined Sabah two years ago and has past Champions League experience with Rostov.

Steve Solvet: Centre-back with an eye for goal that Man Utd will need to watch. Scored five goals in 30 outings for the club.

Rahman Dashdamirov: 26-year-old centre-back has nine caps for the Azerbaijan national side.

Tymoteusz Puchacz: Left-back who previously made 82 appearances in total for Lech Poznan, scoring seven times. Ten appearances were in Europe for the Polish club.

Akim Zedadka: Veteran Algerian right-back, who has one cap for his country.

Veljko Simic

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Umarali Rakhmonaliev: Former loanee made his move permanent in January. Picked up one cap for Uzbekistan.

Aleksey Isaev: Born in Russia but plays for the Azerbaijan national team. Spent time at Zenit St. Petersburg but didn’t debut. Made 54 appearances for rivals Qarabag.

Ivan Lepinjica: The 6’3” central midfielder is a Croation U21 international with five appearances to his name.

Kaheem Parris: Jamaican international’s career so far peaked in the 2022 season when he signed for Ukrainian Premier League side Dynamo Kyiv. He made just 13 appearances in two years.

Joy-Lance Mickels: 32-year-old forward returned to Sabah in 2024 after a short spell away from the club. The German-born player was the top goalscorer in Sabah’s title-winning season with 19 league Premyer Liqa goals.

Veljko Simic: Winger is best known for his spell at Red Star Belgrade where he scored 15 goals in 62 appearances in all competitions. He scored 11 goals in Sabah’s title run last year.