Description
On 25 November 2026 Sabah will host Barcelona at the Baku Olympic Stadium in matchday five of the Champions League league phase, and tickets for Sabah vs Barcelona can already be picked on the stadium map. The club was founded in September 2017 and needed eight qualifying matches to reach this fixture, and twice it lost the first leg 1-2 and still went through.
Below is how that road looked, who led the club into the main tournament, and what kind of stadium hosts the game, followed by a short guide to ordering without a rush.
Sabah vs Barcelona on 25 November: what is known about the match in Baku
The match takes place on 25 November 2026 and is Sabah's fifth league-phase game. Before it the Azerbaijani side plays four fixtures: away at Manchester United and Viking, and at home against Slavia and Borussia Dortmund. Kick-off in Baku is set for 21:45 local time, which is 18:45 CET. Azerbaijani media, citing UEFA, report that Sabah plays its home matches in the competition at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
The league phase has 36 teams, each playing eight matches, and runs from 8 September 2026 to 27 January 2027. After Barcelona, Sabah still has a trip to Villarreal, a home game with Napoli and an away match at Arsenal. The opponent is a heavyweight: Barcelona has won Europe's top club competition five times, in 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015, so for a debutant this is a meeting with one of the most decorated clubs in the tournament.
Four rounds before the league phase: how Sabah reached the Champions League
Sabah started its campaign in the first qualifying round as an unseeded club, and every round was played over two legs. It beat Welsh champions The New Saints 4-1 on aggregate, then Finnish champions KuPS 3-0 on aggregate, and in the third round met Danish side Aarhus. According to AzerNews, Sabah is the first Azerbaijani club to begin a European season in the first qualifying round and get through three qualifying stages.
The series with Aarhus produced the pattern that later repeated in the play-off: Sabah lost the first leg 1-2, then won the return match in Baku 4-0 and went through 5-2 on aggregate. Across four rounds and eight matches Sabah never went out, even though in this round and the next one it lost the first leg.
The play-off with Hapoel Be'er Sheva: 1-2 in the first leg and 5-2 after extra time
The last barrier before the league phase was the most expensive one: the loser of the play-off dropped into the Europa League league phase, while the winner took a place in the Champions League. The first leg against Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva was played on 19 August in Bucharest, and Sabah lost it 1-2. The return match was due on 25 August in Baku.
It was hard from the start: according to UEFA, Sabah trailed twice during the game and was still behind in stoppage time. The rescue came in the 94th minute from Tellur Mutallimov, who had played only 345 minutes in the league that season and had not scored in it. His goal made it 3-2 after 90 minutes and 4-4 on aggregate, and in extra time Sabah scored twice more to win 5-2, which meant 6-4 over the two legs.
The win took the club into the Champions League league phase for the first time in its history, while Hapoel moved to the Europa League. Put the two qualifying stories side by side and a clear picture appears: in the two toughest rounds Sabah began with a 1-2 defeat, and each time the return match at home turned the tie around.
First title, the Cup and coach Dambrauskas: how Sabah's season was built
Sabah was founded on 8 September 2017 and turned nine in September 2026. UEFA describes it as the youngest club ever to reach the Champions League league phase or group stage. It earned its first European place in 2022/23 by finishing second in the Azerbaijani league, and its first major trophy was the Azerbaijan Cup in 2025.
Last season added the main chapter: Sabah won the Azerbaijani title for the first time, securing it on 30 April 2026 with 78 points, and took the Cup by beating Zira 2-1 in the final on 13 May. That made a domestic double, and the season included a 33-match unbeaten run.
The coach behind it is Lithuanian Valdas Dambrauskas, who took over in June 2025 on a three-year contract. According to UEFA, he grew up in Lithuania without access to organised football and decided to become a coach after the 1990 World Cup. In 2002, aged 25, he won 4,000 litas, about 1,160 euros, on a TV quiz and moved to England, where he studied sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University and volunteered in youth football. Before Sabah he worked in Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Hungary.
Baku Olympic Stadium: which seats to choose for Sabah vs Barcelona
The Baku Olympic Stadium opened on 6 March 2015 and holds about 69,000 spectators. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2015 European Games, the 2019 Europa League final in which Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1, and three group matches and a quarter-final of UEFA Euro 2020. Qarabag also played its European home games here, and a record crowd of 67,200 was recorded at one of them in 2017.
At a stadium of this size the choice of seat comes down to position relative to the pitch. According to the event page, the most expensive tickets are in the central stands close to the touchline, while seats behind the goals and in the upper tier are cheaper. Current prices and free seats are shown on the interactive stadium map, and it is easier to compare several sectors calmly in advance than to choose at the last minute.
How to buy Sabah vs Barcelona tickets: e-ticket and QR code at the gate
If you have already decided to see the match live, you can buy Sabah vs Barcelona tickets in a few minutes: pick seats on the map, fill in the order form and pay online through a secure gateway.
Tickets are electronic and are sent to the e-mail you provide right after payment, so no separate delivery is needed. On match day a QR code is shown at the entrance, so save the e-mail in advance. How much a Sabah vs Barcelona ticket costs depends on the sector and the distance from the pitch, and exact prices are shown on the map. If questions come up, support answers by chat and phone.
The date and time on the event page are marked as subject to change, so check them again before travelling to Baku. The story of the match is worth a look too: a Champions League debutant that twice lost a first leg 1-2 and twice won the return match hosts a five-time winner of the competition.
Disclaimer: event dates, times and venues may change. Check the current information before booking tickets.