Tottenham's only hope to save this season is still the Europa League, where they will meet Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals.
Spurs had to recover after a heavy 1-5 loss to Liverpool, who won the Premier League. If they beat Bodo/Glimt, Tottenham will meet Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao in the final.
Tottenham's performance outside domestic competitions is a more positive picture. The "Roosters" aim to extend their 19-match unbeaten streak at home in European competitions (won 15, drew 4). That unbeaten streak, since losing 0-1 to RB Leipzig in February 2020, is the longest streak of any English side in European competition this season.
Team rotation has been a key focus since Tottenham focused on the Europa League. Coach Ange Postecoglou made 8 changes in the loss to Liverpool. That was the most changes to Spurs' squad from one Premier League match to another in history.
Meanwhile, Bodo/Glimt are also looking to recover after losing their last three away games in the Europa League - all of which have come in the knockout stages. They have also won just once away from home in 10 games (D3 L6). That was a 2-1 victory over Braga in the League Phase this season.
The worrying thing for Bodo/Glimt is that the only teams that lost the first leg of the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals on the way to the Europa League final are Ajax in 2016-2020 and Rangers in 2021-2022.
However, Bodo/Glimt are used to fighting history as they are the first Norwegian team to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament in Europe.
The match against Tottenham will also be a memorable moment for coach Kjetil Knutsen, as the second Norwegian captain to lead a team to the Europa League semi-finals, after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. However, the Norwegian coaches have lost all 8 matches against English teams in this tournament.
In contrast, this will be Spurs' 9th big semi-final in Europe, but the first since the 2018-2019 Champions League campaign. At that time, they defeated Ajax in two spectacular matches thanks to Lucas Moura.
They have lost the first leg of their last two semi-final games (losing 1-2 to Hajduk Split in the UEFA Cup 1983-84, losing 1-0 to Ajax in 2019), but have come back to reach the final.
Son Heung-min played a key role in the memorable comeback against Ajax, but could miss the upcoming leg due to an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Radu Dragusin's season has ended after anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee.
Head-to-head record
The two teams have never faced each other in any European tournament, although Spurs have a favorable record against Norwegian opponents.
Tottenham have won all 4 of their most recent matches in Europe against Norwegian sides, beating Lyn 6-3 (away) and 6-0 (home) in the UEFA Cup 1972 1973; Troms 3-0 (home) and 2-0 (away) in the Europa League 2013-2014.
In contrast, Bodo/Glimt have lost all three of their European meetings with English clubs, both at home and away to Arsenal in the Europa League. They also lost 2-3 away to Man United at the beginning of this campaign in the League Phase.
Score prediction
Tottenham have a 66.6% chance of reaching the Europa League final, the team with the highest percentage among the remaining teams in the tournament, ahead of Bodo/Glimt with 33.4%.
This possibility is further enhanced by the fact that Spurs are predicted to have a 58.5% chance of winning the first leg against Bodo/Glimt.
The Norwegians have just a 19.9% chance of winning away from home, while the draw is rated at 21.6%.
Predicted result: Tottenham 2-0 Bodo/Glimt
The match between Tottenham and Bodo/Glimt takes place at 2:00 am on January 2 (Vietnam time).
