Overview
Bodo/Glimt are facing the opportunity to continue their journey in the Champions League this season after taking the lead in the first leg of the play-offs. The Norwegian team defeated NEC Nijmegen 3-1 away from home, thereby taking the lead before the second leg.
3 goals from Sondre Fet, Andreas Helmersen and Haitam Aleesami help Bodo/Glimt completely control the advantage after the away match in the Netherlands. With a 2-goal gap, the Norwegian representative has a great opportunity to take another step to the Champions League group stage.
Bodo/Glimt have a basis to be confident when entering this confrontation. Kjetil Knutsen's team has continuously participated in European Cup group stages in the past 5 years. Last season, they even created a remarkable journey in the Champions League when they successively defeated Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan to advance to the round of 16.
In the Champions League qualifiers this season, Bodo/Glimt also had to go through a not-so-simple confrontation with Union Saint-Gilloise. The two teams drew after two legs and were only decided by Andreas Helmersen's goal in extra time.
Recent form further strengthens Bodo/Glimt's confidence. After losing the Eliteserien championship to Viking with a gap of only one point last season, they are continuing to compete fiercely in the new season. The Norwegian team has won 6 consecutive matches since the summer break.
Notably, Bodo/Glimt is also maintaining a very high scoring efficiency. They scored 9 goals after 3 matches in the European arena, and also had 6 more goals in the winning streak in the domestic league. With a total of 15 goals in the recent period, Knutsen's attack is clearly an important fulcrum.
In the opposite direction, NEC Nijmegen still has hope even though they are leading 1-3 after the first leg. Clement Bischoff's late goal helped the Dutch team narrow the gap and avoid falling into a situation where they almost had no chance before the trip to Norway.
NEC's appearance in the Champions League play-offs is also a commendable achievement. Last season, they surprisingly finished third in the Eredivisie to qualify for the Champions League qualifiers. This is only the fifth time they have participated in a UEFA tournament and the first time in about 17 years they have approached the group stage of the most prestigious European tournament.
NEC took advantage of that opportunity when they defeated Olympiacos in the third qualifying round. After a 0-0 draw in Greece, they won 2-1 at home to advance to the play-offs. More importantly, going deep in the qualifiers also ensures NEC has a Europa League spot if they cannot create a comeback against Bodo/Glimt.
NEC had their domestic league match postponed to have more time to prepare for their away trip to Norway. With a 2-goal lead, they were forced to play offensively and look for an almost perfect comeback.
Expected lineup:
Bodo/Glimt: Haikin, Sjovold, Bjortuft, Aleesami, Bjorkan, Auklend, Berg, Fet, Blomberg, Helmersen, Hauge.
Crettaz, Pereira, Storm, Fonville, Monteiro, Nejasmic, Lebreton, Bischoff, Chery, Tadic, Linssen.
The match between Bodo/Glimt and NEC Nijmegen takes place at 2:00 AM on August 26 (Vietnam time).
