After almost three years away, Champions League football is finally back at the Theatre of Dreams.Manchester United last hosted Europe's elite on December 12, 2023, when Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Old Trafford. Since then, the club has endured one of the strangest spells in its history – and now Michael Carrick has the job of restoring United to the stage where they believe they belong.##NAJAVA_MECA_9945978##Carrick helped steady the ship after Ruben Amorim's disastrous spell, but the new season has hardly started smoothly. United have collected just four points from their opening three Premier League games, with Everton snatching a 2-2 draw in Liverpool on Sunday.And that makes the timing of Sabah's visit particularly awkward.The Azerbaijani side may not exactly be the glamour opponent United supporters dreamed of for their Champions League return, but Carrick must balance European expectations with Sunday’s Manchester derby against City looming large.##NAJAVA_MECA_9945644##The United boss insists he is simply delighted to be back in the competition."It's a magical competition. It's where we want to be."United, however, have plenty to prove. They have failed to progress beyond the last 16 since 2019 and were eliminated in the group stage in two of their last three Champions League campaigns. They have also won just one of their last seven matches in the competition.Rotation therefore seems inevitable, with Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui pushing for starts in defence, while Andre Santos could come into midfield. Benjamin Sesko is also expected to lead the attack after scoring against Everton, with Matheus Cunha alongside him.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Marcus Rashford is a doubt after being substituted at the weekend with a muscle problem, while Matthijs de Ligt is edging closer to a long-awaited return. Manuel Ugarte, Carlos Baleba, Amad Diallo and Tom Heaton remain unavailable.For United, this should be the perfect night to rediscover the Champions League feeling. But with City waiting around the corner, Carrick has a delicate balancing act to perform – and, after a shaky start to the season, he can hardly afford to get it wrong.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEROUND 1TuesdayAEK – LASK 1-0 (1-0)/Marin 21/Club Brugge – Aston Villa 2-3 (1-3)/Vetlesen 19, Tresoldi 61 pen – McGinn 11, Buendia 22, Jackson 43/Porto – Manchester City 0-2 (0-0)/Haaland 47, 90+1/Dortmund – Villarreal 3-2 (0-0)/Veiga 53 og, Guirassy 80, 85 pen – Mourino 66, Guirassy 90+3 og/Lille – Betis 2-3 (2-1)/Ueda 12, Ribeiro 36 – Bartra 33,49, Parrott 53/Real Madrid – Inter 2-1 (2-0)/Mbappe 14, Valverde 23 – Augusto 77/WednesdayBarcelona – Feyenoord 5-1 (2-0)/Raphinha 3, 57, Aeyemi 22, Yamal 77, Jesus 85 – Steijn 82/Stuttgart – Viking 3-1 (3-1)/Demirovic 20, 26, 32 – Tripic 22/Liverpool – Atl.Madrid 2-1 (1-1)/Szoboszlai 40, Mac Allister 50 – Llorente 17/Napoli – Arsenal 0-1 (0-0)/Odegaard 75/PSG – Slovan B. 6-1 (3-0)/Dembele 17, 23, Torres 31, 47, 57, Ruiz 87 – Camara 58/Sporting – Galatasaray 3-1 (1-1)/Catamo 27, Suarez 57(p), Zalazar 63 – Inacio 5(og)/Thursday19.45: (3.15) Fenerbahce (3.45) Roma (2.25)19.45: (1.43) PSV (4.60) Shakhtar (7.25)22.00: (1.10) Bayern (10.0) Bodo (16.0)22.00: (1.95) Como (3.50) RB Leipzig (3.90)22.00: (1.10) Man.Utd. (11.0) Sabah (18.0)22.00: (2.60) Slavia Praha (3.35) Lens (2.70)***odds are subject to change***