Sabah FK and The New Saints meet for the first time in competitive football on 7 July 2026 when they play the first leg of their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie at Bank Respublika Arena in Masazir, with the aggregate winner set to face Vardar or KuPS Kuopio in the next round.
Sabah finished the 2025-26 Azerbaijan Premier League with 24 wins, six draws and three defeats and a goal difference north of fifty, as dominant a title winning campaign as you will see at this level. The New Saints did what they always seem to do in the Cymru Premier: win consistently and with plenty of goals, winning around 26 of their 32 league matches. Both sides are the clear class of their domestic leagues but European qualifying in early July is its own thing, with short preparation windows, long travel and Baku heat all pulling at the visitors.
Valdas Dambrauskas took charge at Sabah in July 2025 and delivered a domestic double in his first season, organising a side that presses high and moves quickly into the space it creates when it wins the ball back. Craig Harrison has been guiding The New Saints through similar campaigns since around 2022 by favouring a possession based approach and the two managers haven't crossed paths before.
Sabah are expected to field the settled lineup that carried them through the double, while TNS travel with the experienced core they have used in previous qualifying rounds. Dambrauskas sets his side up to press and drive forward on transitions, whereas Harrison's side come at you with the ball, building through midfield and creating chances primarily from set piece delivery. If Sabah can disrupt TNS rhythm and win possession high up the pitch they limit the damage considerably but if Harrison's side get into their passing patterns they will threaten consistently.
Adam Wilson leads the line for TNS, a forward whose movement and finishing range have caused problems for organised defences in qualifying before, with Jordan Williams and Ryan Brobbell offering direct running in behind the defensive line. TNS score regularly from corners and wide free kicks, which will be a real test for a Sabah back line that conceded only a handful of goals in 33 league games.
The July heat in Azerbaijan and the long trip for the Welsh side are real factors, though TNS have navigated opening legs of European qualifying rounds across multiple previous campaigns without visibly struggling.
2-2. Sabah's home record through the league season was strong and Dambrauskas has them well organised but The New Saints have the scoring record and the experience of managing first legs on the road to come away with a useful result. Neither manager has any prior head to head data to draw on here, both squads look capable of scoring and this first leg looks more likely to open things up than settle them, making the return in Wales the one that matters.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
