The opening matchday of the Champions League league phase concludes on Thursday. FC Bayern Munich host FK Bodø/Glimt, one of European football’s most remarkable success stories of recent years, while RB Leipzig travel to face ambitious Italian side Como 1907.
Alongside the two fixtures involving Bundesliga clubs, there is another game with a very clear favourite: Manchester United welcome Sabah FK. The English record champions return to the Champions League after a three-year absence, while the Azerbaijani club, founded only in 2017, are competing in a European league phase for the first time.
Bayern looking to extend remarkable opening-game run
FC Bayern Munich head into their meeting with Bodø/Glimt as clear favourites. Their dress rehearsal did not go according to plan, with a 0-0 draw away to newly promoted Schalke, but the Bavarians boast an extraordinary record in their first Champions League game of the season. Since 2003, they have won their opening match in each of their 22 appearances. Their home record is even more impressive: Bayern are unbeaten in their last 38 group-stage or league-phase matches at the Allianz Arena, winning 36 of them.
The German champions would nevertheless be wise not to underestimate their opponents. Under Kjetil Knutsen, Bodø/Glimt have made remarkable progress in recent years and established themselves as a serious force in European competition. The Norwegians reached the Europa League semi-finals in 2024/25 and then advanced to the Champions League round of 16 in their debut campaign in the competition. Their run included eliminating Inter. This season, the Norwegian runners-up booked their place in the league phase with a comprehensive 6-1 aggregate play-off victory over NEC Nijmegen. They have not lost a competitive game since facing Molde in May, an unbeaten run that now stands at 18 matches.
Bodø/Glimt’s formidable home record on the artificial pitch north of the Arctic Circle has been well documented, but their away results have also improved significantly. They have lost only one of their last six European away games, a sequence that includes victories at Inter, Atlético Madrid and NEC Nijmegen, as well as draws in Dortmund and against Union Saint-Gilloise. The gap between their home and away performances is therefore considerably smaller than it was in previous years.
Vincent Kompany has close to a full squad at his disposal. Serge Gnabry is nearing a return after his lengthy injury lay-off but is likely to be eased back into action, while Jamal Musiala already picked up his first minutes against Schalke. Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović are options in central midfield, with Michael Olise, Ismael Saibari and Luis Díaz providing plenty of quality behind Harry Kane. The England striker has scored 33 Champions League goals in his first three seasons with Bayern, while Olise registered five goals and six assists in last year’s competition. Austrian international Konrad Laimer is again an option at right-back.
Bodø/Glimt, by contrast, are without several players. Jostein Gundersen, Håkon Evjen, August Mikkelsen, Magnus Bech Riisnæs and Isak Sjong did not travel to Munich due to injury. Jens Petter Hauge will be one of their main attacking threats after scoring six times in last season’s Champions League.
Como make European debut against Leipzig
One of the evening’s most intriguing fixtures takes place on the shores of Lake Como. Como 1907 are appearing in European competition for the first time in the club’s history. Under Cesc Fàbregas, they sensationally finished fourth in Serie A last season and conceded only 29 goals, the best defensive record in the division. Their strong form has carried into the new campaign: after drawing their opener, Como won 2-1 away to Napoli before beating Genoa FC 4-1.
RB Leipzig arrive in less settled circumstances. The Saxony club are back in the Champions League after a season without European football, but their recent record in the competition is poor: they have won just one of their last ten Champions League matches. Leipzig have also conceded in 18 consecutive European games. A 3-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach was followed by a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Werder Bremen last weekend, when their pressing and defensive structure caused particular concern.
Martin Demichelis will be without Rocco Reitz and Austrian international Christoph Baumgartner. Brajan Gruda, Castello Lukeba and Rômulo, all of whom had also been doubts, have made progress: Gruda is available again, Lukeba has returned to training and Rômulo is at least an option. Austria midfielder Nicolas Seiwald could therefore have an important role in central midfield, while Christopher Nkunku is expected to be a key figure in attack.
Como cannot call on their entire domestic squad in the Champions League. Maxence Caqueret, Edoardo Goldaniga, Willy Kambwala, Adrian Lahdo and Mauro Vigorito are among those not registered for the league phase. Even so, Fàbregas can still turn to plenty of attacking quality in Nico Paz, Martin Baturina, Assane Diao, Tasos Douvikas and new signing Moise Kean.
Manchester United host Champions League newcomers Sabah
The clearest mismatch on paper comes at Old Trafford. United will play their 300th match in the European Cup or Champions League against Sabah and are back in the competition after a three-year absence. Sabah, meanwhile, are only nine years old and become the second Azerbaijani club after Qarabağ to reach the Champions League. They won six of their eight qualifying matches, eliminating The New Saints, KuPS, Aarhus and Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the play-offs.
Michael Carrick will be without Carlos Baleba, Manuel Ugarte and Amad Diallo, among others. Marcus Rashford returned to training after the minor problem he picked up against Everton, while Luke Shaw was given an additional recovery day ahead of the match. With Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Šeško, United still have more than enough quality to put the visitors under sustained pressure. Anything other than a home victory would represent a major surprise and a huge result for the Champions League newcomers from Azerbaijan.
Thursday’s Champions League action begins at 18:45 with Fenerbahçe facing AS Roma and PSV Eindhoven hosting Shakhtar Donetsk. At 21:00, Bayern against Bodø/Glimt, Como against Leipzig and Manchester United against Sabah are joined by Slavia Prague versus RC Lens.
