Overview
Bodo/Glimt won the right to participate in the Champions League group stage for the first time in history, but the debut journey of the Norwegian representative took place with great difficulty.
Coach Kjetil Knutsen's team is currently ranked 32nd in the standings, having only won 3 points after 6 matches, with a record of 3 draws and 3 defeats. This makes Bodo/Glimt one of the rare four teams that have not yet known victory in the group stage this season.
As a result, they are 4 points behind the top 24 teams, while only having two final matches left. To nurture hopes of participating in the knockout round, the representative of Superlaget is almost forced to win all 3 points in the remaining matches.
However, Bodo/Glimt still has a significant advantage in terms of fitness. Since the beginning of the year, they have only played two friendly matches, as the domestic season has closed since the end of November. This helps the Norwegian team have a significantly better physical foundation than their opponent Manchester City.
In stark contrast, Pep Guardiola's team has experienced a dense schedule with 6 matches since the beginning of the year. During that time, Man City showed unstable form when they only won two matches. Including one win against Exeter City and 3 draws and one defeat.
In the most recent match, The Citizens lost 0-2 in the Manchester derby, thereby still not getting any victories in the Premier League in 2026, after a 3-match draw streak earlier this month.
Guardiola hopes that returning to the Champions League arena - where Man City won 4, drew 1 and only lost 1 after six group stage matches - will help his team regain the rhythm of victory and start a series of more positive results.
A victory in Norway is also crucial in the race to win a ticket to the top 8 of the Champions League. Currently, Man City is only one point ahead of 9th-placed Liverpool, while Barcelona in 15th place is only 3 points behind The Citizens as the group stage is about to end.
Therefore, 3 points against Body/Glimt in the penultimate match, before welcoming Galatasaray next week, may play a decisive role in consolidating Man City's position in the top eight strongest teams.
Despite facing many difficulties, Man City still has reason to be confident as they have not lost any away matches in the Champions League this season, with two wins and one draw. This is a sufficient achievement for them to gain confidence before the away match to Northern Europe.
Personnel situation
Bodo/Glimt will continue to be without Jostein Gundersen, who has been suspended for the third consecutive match after a red card in the clash with AS Monaco in early November.
Haitam Aleesami is also absent due to a hamstring injury, forcing coach Kjetil Knutsen to likely use the central defender pair Odin Luras Bjortuft and Villads Nielsen.
On Man City's side, the away team's absence list is significantly prolonged due to injury and suspension. The names that cannot be included include Josko Gvardiol, John Stones, Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Dias, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho, Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva, Kalvin Phillips and Omar Marmoush, while Phil Foden is also having fitness problems.
Antoine Semenyo has also not been able to play in the Champions League until the knockout stage, after joining the club in the January transfer window.
Expected lineup:
Bodo/Glimt: Haikin, Sjovold, Nielsen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan, Evjen, Berg, Fet, Blomberg, Hogh, Hauge.
Man City: Donnarumma, Lewis, Khusanov, Alleyne, Ait-Nouri, Cherki, Reijnders, O'Reilly, Mukasa, Doku, Haaland.
The match between Bodo/Glimt and Man City takes place at 0:45 AM on January 21 (Vietnam time).
