Preview: Bodo/Glimt vs Inter Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Travelling north of the Arctic Circle, Inter Milan will continue their quest for Champions League redemption when they visit Bodo/Glimt on Wednesday.

Meeting at Aspmyra Stadion for the first leg of their playoff, three-time winners Inter have reached the final twice in the last three seasons, while Bodo are knockout stage debutants.

Match preview

Bodo/Glimt's first foray into the Champions League proper seemed set to end in the league phase, before the competition’s most northerly club sealed progress with a grandstand finale.

Ensuring their campaign would continue, the Norwegian side spectacularly recovered from failing to win any of their opening six games by knocking down two heavyweights.

Against all odds, Bodo won their final pair of fixtures - 3-1 at home to Manchester City and 2-1 away to Atletico Madrid - and seized the penultimate qualifying spot on a chaotic last matchday.

Recently dethroned as Eliteserien champions, Kjetil Knutsen’s team have been in winter hibernation since that famous night in Madrid, so they should be fully rested for the visit of Italy’s league leaders.

Appointed head coach in 2018, Knutsen has steered his side to four domestic titles, along with memorable victories over Celtic, Roma and Porto in previous continental campaigns.

Last year, they even reached the Europa League semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur after overcoming Lazio to get there - Bodo's sole success against Italian opposition across five two-legged ties.

One such clash came in the 1978-79 Cup Winners’ Cup, when Inter strode to a 7-1 aggregate victory, winning 5-0 in Milan and 2-1 away from home.

Inter’s only other trip to Norway brought a 2-2 draw with Rosenborg in September 2002; when they finally return on Wednesday, securing a first-leg lead will be their main aim.

The Nerazzurri have arrived in the playoffs via an uneven league-phase campaign, in which they won their first four games while conceding just one goal, before suffering three consecutive defeats.

On the last matchday, a 2-0 away win over Borussia Dortmund was not quite enough to make the top eight - 15 points placed them 10th in the table - so they must take the long route to this year’s last 16.

Twice beaten finalists during the past three years, Inter truly excel in two-legged ties: excluding finals, they have won 10 and lost just one of their last 15 knockout matches in Europe’s top competition.

After coming so close to Champions League glory under Simone Inzaghi, his successor - 2010 treble winner Cristian Chivu - must have an eye on going all the way this season.

Having lost the Serie A title to Napoli last term, just before their 5-0 mauling by Paris Saint-Germain, Inter are now well set to reclaim the Scudetto: following six straight wins, they sit eight points clear of nearest challengers AC Milan.

The most recent - and surely the sweetest - of those victories came in Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, where old foes Juventus were controversially reduced to 10 men before Inter prevailed 3-2 with a 90th-minute winner from Piotr Zielinski.

That was just their latest success at San Siro - also ending a string of failures against top opposition - but Chivu’s men are proving even tougher to beat on their travels.

Away from home, they have put together a seven-match winning streak across all competitions, while conceding just a single goal; yet the notorious Aspmyra Stadion will provide its own unique test.

Bodo/Glimt Champions League form:

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Bodo/Glimt form (all competitions):

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Inter Milan Champions League form:

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Inter Milan form (all competitions):

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Team News

Bodo/Glimt boss Knutsen named the same lineup against Man City and Atleti, so he should stick to that script in midweek.

Only experienced midfielder Ulrik Saltnes is an injury doubt, so ever-present trio Odin Bjortuft, Patrick Berg and Fredrik Sjovold - each of whom have played every minute in the Champions League this season - should all start.

Ex-Milan man Jens Petter Hauge is Bodo’s leading scorer with four goals and was the only player to create 20-plus chances and complete at least 20 dribbles during the league phase.

Kasper Hogh played a major role in Glimt’s glorious back-to-back wins last month, scoring three times in two matches, but Inter boast one of the Champions League’s most prolific marksmen this decade.

Also Serie A’s Capocannoniere last season, Lautaro Martinez has 25 career goals in the competition; any one from Marcus Thuram, Ange Bonny and Francesco Pio Esposito will partner ‘El Toro’ on Wednesday.

Midfield pair Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu returned from injury to face Juve - and both should start as they are suspended this weekend - but wing-back Denzel Dumfries may not yet be ready to return.

Starting on the left flank, set-piece specialist Federico Dimarco has already notched 11 assists in the Italian top flight, in addition creating 11 chances in the Champions League.

Bodo/Glimt possible starting lineup:

Haikin; Sjovold, Gundersen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan; Evjen, Berg, Fet; Blomberg, Hogh, Hauge

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni; Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco; Martinez, Esposito

We say: Bodo/Glimt 1-2 Inter Milan

Set to face sub-zero conditions and a tricky plastic pitch, Inter will be put through a tough test in this first leg - particularly as Bodo/Glimt also play a slick brand of football.

However, Bodo are not unbeatable - both Monaco and Juventus won there earlier this season - and they will struggle to resist the Nerazzurri's insatiable attack.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.