The last time Manchester United played in the Champions League in 2023/24, they finished dead last in their group and were eliminated. The next year, they played in the Europa League, managed to reach the final but finished 15th in the Premier League. This season, they are once again back in Europe’s biggest competition after finishing third in the league in 2025/26.

But with the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and eight guaranteed Champions League matches, manager Michael Carrick will have his baptism by fire. Last season, United did not qualify for Europe, were knocked out early from the domestic cup competitions and had their sole focus on finishing high in the league table. Their players were well-rested throughout the season with the club having to play just 40 matches. This year, they might have to play over 60 in all competitions.

If recent history is to be believed, United don’t do well when they are juggling multiple competitions. After finishing 15th in 2024/25, United spent a major portion of their transfer budget on forwards with Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha all coming through the door last season. They also strengthened the goalkeeping position, buying Senne Lammens and sidelining the error-prone Andre Onana.

Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko, right, celebrates scoring their side’s second goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Manchester United in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

The new signings had a decent season, propelling United to third. While they lack an alternative to Sesko, the addition of Marcus Rashford, back from a title-winning campaign at Barcelona, gives them an adequate forward line for this season. So, this season’s transfer targets were mostly midfielders for United with Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans all joining the squad. With Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo, the midfield might look steady on paper but it’s definitely not worldclass and pose little to no threat to elite teams in the Champions League. They also have a big Casemiro-sized hole to fill as well.

Out of ideas

The signs of the midfield not clicking is apparent from the first game of the season where United looked lethargic and out of ideas as they went down to newly promoted Hull 2-0. They then slammed Ipswich 5-2 with Bruno doing all the heavy lifting with a hattrick while they reverted to type, getting held 2-2 by Everton in their last EPL encounter. The midfield has become totally dependent on Bruno and has been since 2020 and any time he does not click, United look hapless. It’s been six years and United have found no alternative for Bruno, and that does not really bode well for the Champions League season.

If the midfield is passable, the state of the defence is outright miserable with Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot starting their last match against Everton on Sunday. This is the same back four deployed by ex-United manager Erik ten Hag for his first match in 2022. It’s not as if they haven’t signed defenders in the interim but for some reason or the other, things don’t seem to come together at the right time for the club. Matthijs de Ligt, who started last season brightly was ruled out of the entire year due to back injury and he still hasn’t returned. Leny Yoro was one earmarked for the future when he was brought in but he hasn’t yet lived up to his reputation while Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven are inconsistent at best.

Yet, United neglected their defence in the transfer window and are going into a packed season with an under-par backline, an ordinary midfield and a workable attack. While they might still manage domestically, the Champions League will be an outright nightmare for them with clashes against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich lined up. The relatively less featured fixtures are no walk in the park either with Italy’s Como and Roma, Portugal’s Sporting CP, Germany’s RB Leipzig and Spain’s Villarreal all waiting in the wings.

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United, however, have a relatively easy fixture to start their campaign, taking on Sabah FK, a club from Azerbaijan, which came into being in just 2017 and are playing their debut Champions League season. United have a chance to start their European campaign off to a bright start but they historically have a habit of slipping up against smaller teams. Like the times they were stunned by Midtjylland in 2016 as well as losing 4-3 to Copenhagen in 2023. With the team having difficulty breaching low blocks, the match against Sabah will be the real litmus test for Carrick and his men.