Overview
In the first leg of the round of 16, when Bayern Munich was the only away team to win, Sporting CP was among the 4 teams to suffer defeats and now needs a comeback to continue their European journey.
Along with the top three Premier League representatives Chelsea (lost to Paris Saint-Germain), Tottenham Hotspur (defeated to Atletico Madrid) and Manchester City (lost to Real Madrid), Sporting is one of the teams facing the task of reversing the game after being led by 3 goals. However, they can still find inspiration from their own history.
Previously, the Lisbon representative had created a spectacular comeback when losing 1-4 in the first leg but winning 5-0 in the second leg to defeat Manchester United with a total score of 6-4 in the C2 Cup quarter-finals of the 1963-1964 season.
Sporting does not rule out the possibility of recreating the miracle, especially when they possess extremely impressive form at Estadio Jose Alvalade. This team has won 17/18 recent home matches - including 4 group stage matches - including 10 wins with a difference of 3 goals or more.
They also won all three times they hosted Norwegian opponents in the UEFA arena before, and both kept a clean sheet. This achievement further strengthens the belief of the home team, especially when they have more time to rest because last weekend's match with Tondela was postponed.
On the other side, Bodo/Glimt also does not have to play on the weekend because they have not yet entered the opening round of Eliteserien 2026. Their most recent match was the first leg of the round of 16, where goals from Sondre Fet, Ole Blomberg and Kasper Hogh helped the Norwegian team create a great advantage.
This victory extends the impressive journey of the Scandinavian representative in the UEFA Champions League. In their first participation, they made a strong breakthrough in the final stage of the group stage with a draw against Dortmund, before successively defeating Man City and Atletico Madrid to win tickets to the play-offs.
After eliminating Inter Milan, coach Kjetil Knutsen's team can completely continue to take advantage of the advantage, aiming to become the first Norwegian team to reach the quarter-finals since Rosenborg in the 1996-1997 season.
Another notable statistic is that Glimt has won all five previous UEFA matches when leading by 3 goals in the first leg at home. The effective attack also brings great confidence before the away trip to Lisbon.
The Norwegian team has scored at least 2 goals in 9/11 recent Champions League matches. Notably, they also scored exactly 2 goals in each year of their recent away trips in all competitions, including 4 wins.
Personnel situation
Sporting has been missing some key players in the first leg due to suspension, but will welcome the return of Maximiliano Araujo and Pedro Goncalves after both complete one-match suspension.
Meanwhile, Fotis Ioannidis and Ricardo Mangas are still sidelined due to unhealed knee injuries, while winger Geovany Quenda is in the process of recovering after foot surgery.
Luis Suarez has scored 3 goals in his two most recent Champions League appearances at Estadio Jose Alvalade. The Colombian striker is expected to continue to be the main spearhead, leading the attack in the upcoming match.
On the other side, Bodo/Glimt also possesses a striker who is in high form. Kasper Hogh has scored 5 goals in the last 5 matches in European competitions and aims to maintain this impressive performance in Lisbon.
Kjetil Knutsen has kept the starting lineup in all 5 recent matches in the continental arena and is likely to continue to use his familiar squad.
Expected lineup:
Sporting Lisbon: Silva, Fresneda, Diomande, Inacio, Araujo, Hjulmand, Morita, Catamo, Trincao, Goncalves, Suarez.
Bodo/Glimt: Haikin, Sjovold, Bjortuft, Gundersen, Bjorkan, Evjen, Berg, Fet, Blomberg, Hogh, Hauge.
The match between Sporting Lisbon and Bodo/Glimt takes place at 0:45 AM on March 18 (Vietnam time).
