Thursday's Champions League predictions including Man United vs. Sabah, Bayern Munich vs. Bodo/Glimt
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Today's Champions League predictions include Manchester United's clash with Sabah, and a contest between Bayern Munich and Bodo/Glimt.
Making a long-awaited return to the Champions League, Fenerbahce and Roma will clash at Sukru Saracolglu Stadium on Thursday.
Both were regular fixtures in UEFA's other club competitions, but they are now finally back in the big time.
Including qualifiers, Fenerbahce have only lost five of their last 32 home matches in European competition - while winning 20 - but they did lose to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest at the Sukru Saracoglu last season.
Lyon also left with a draw in the playoff round, so in-form Roma should take something back with them to Italy, given their significant goal threat.
PSV Eindhoven welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to Philips Stadium for their opening League Phase fixture in the 2026-27 Champions League on Thursday night.
These two teams meet for the first time since November 2024 when the Dutch side mounted an extraordinary comeback to win 3-2 in the League Phase, scoring all three goals from the 87th minute onwards.
Both teams have enjoyed positive starts on the domestic front heading into this opening fixture, and an entertaining, end-to-end contest could be in store at the Philips Stadion.
While Shakhtar have the credentials to cause problems for the hosts on the counter-attack, Bosz’s side should ultimately find a way to edge this close encounter on home soil and snap their five-match opening-day losing streak in the Champions League.
Lens travel to Fortuna Arena in Czechia to face Slavia Prague in their opening League Phase match of the 2026-27 Champions League on Thursday night.
The only previous encounter between these two sides came back in 1995-96 when Slavia secured a 1-0 aggregate win in the third round of the UEFA Cup.
Given that Slavia Prague are averaging three goals per game across their opening seven fixtures this term, and considering that none of Lens' 18 historical Champions League group-stage matches have ever finished goalless, an entertaining, end-to-end contest could be on the horizon in the Czech capital.
While the visitors boast the tactical flexibility to match the hosts' blistering frontline, there is ultimately very little to separate these two well-drilled outfits on paper, and a score draw could well be on the cards.
Capping their meteoric rise by bringing Champions League football to little Stadio Singaglia, debutants Como will host RB Leipzig on Thursday evening.
After spending big to join Europe's elite, the Italian club are following in the footsteps of fellow outsiders Leipzig, who went all the way to the semi-finals six years ago.
There may be more Champions League experience within Leipzig's squad, but Como have developed into a slick machine under Fabregas and could prove difficult to stop.
Add in a return to home turf after touring Italy for the past few weeks, and the Lariani should mark their debut with maximum points.
Heavyweights Bayern Munich will kick off their Champions League campaign on Thursday, when they welcome Bodo/Glimt to the Allianz Arena for their first league-phase clash.
The Bavarians are expecting to continue their unbeaten start to the season, though Superlaget are dreaming of an eighth consecutive victory across all competitions.
Bayern may have been held to a 0-0 draw by Schalke at the weekend, but they should have more than enough to come out on top on Thursday.
That being said, it would not be surprising to see Bodo/Glimt put on a competitive display, and find themselves on the scoresheet in the process.
Manchester United will be aiming to begin their 2026-27 Champions League league phase campaign on a winning note when they welcome Azerbaijani outfit Sabah on Thursday night.
This is Man United's first Champions League campaign in three seasons, while it will be the first time that Sabah have competed at this level of European football.
It is difficult to predict a clean sheet for Man United given their defensive frailties, but we are expecting the Red Devils to get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
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