FK Bodø/Glimt v Tottenham Hotspur: UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg Preview

 

James Maddison scored the second goal for Tottenham last week… but injury will rule him out of the second leg in Norway

 

It’s the biggest night in the history of FK Bodø/Glimt.

A European semi-final seemed inconceivable for the Norwegian minnows when they were promoted back to the top-tier Eliteserien in 2019, then still very much a part-time club.

But six years later, under the management of long-term boss Kjetil Knutsen and driven by a hard-working squad with very little foreign influence, they are just 90 minutes and a two-goal deficit away from the greatest night of the club’s history, bar none.

All that stands in their way is Tottenham Hotspur, who would consider themselves European giants compared to the obscurity of their opponents from north of the Arctic Circle. While their Norwegian counterparts were surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2019, Spurs were competing in the final of the Champions League against Liverpool in Madrid.

When Knutsen took charge of Bodø/Glimt in 2018, having previously served as assistant to his predecessor Aasmund Bjørkan, the club were in the second division of Norwegian football and were unfancied by pundits to make the step up, but the Bergen-born boss managed to steer them to league victory by a highly impressive 16 points.

Cue the start of an era beyond the wildest expectations of anyone associated with the club, including four Eliteserien titles since promotion, a group-stage exit in the 2021/22 Europa League – but not before defeating Jose Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 – the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League last season, and now becoming the first Norwegian side to reach a European semi-final.

It’s a cliché, but you could not write a script like this.

Spurs, on the other hand, will feel as though they have a point to prove, in their biggest game in six years.

Trophyless in 17 years, and without a major European honour since Tony Parks inspired them to UEFA Cup success in 1984, Ange Postecoglou’s men will be hoping that the trend of good European performances following dismal league displays would continue tonight in Bodø.

However, the North Londoners will be unfancied. An unfamiliar artificial surface, bitterly cynical Norwegian temperatures and absences of key players James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and most likely skipper Heung-min Son due to injuries will make their task more difficult – but they have upset the odds in Europe before and will be desperate to right the wrongs of past seasons.

Bodø/Glimt will be a different side to the team that were beaten convincingly in London last week, and the return of captain Patrick Berg, as well as first-team regulars Hakon Evjen and Andreas Helmersen following suspensions, will be a much-needed boost. They weren’t at their usual hard-working, organised best in N17 last Thursday, but will be encouraged by their late goal scored by Ulrik Saltnes via a deflection.

A three-goal deficit may have been too much to come back from, but anything can happen when you’re within two goals.

 

Prediction:

Bodø/Glimt’s league season has only just got underway – the Norwegian off-season is during the winter – but they are already unbeaten as they look to defend their Eliteserien title. They know the conditions of a Thursday night north of the Arctic Circle – and on a plastic pitch – better than any other team, and are unbeaten at home since the group stage defeat to Qarabag FK of Azerbaijan in November.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are in dreadful form in the league but encouraging form in the Europa League. They will be up against it tonight against a well-organised Bodø/Glimt. The two-goal first leg victory should see them through to Bilbao, but don’t be surprised if they lose on the night.

Score prediction: Bodø/Glimt 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs win 4-3 on aggregate)