Preview:Slavia Prague vs Bodo/Glimt - prediction, team news, lineups

Fortuna Arena will play host to an intriguing Champions League encounter on Wednesday night, as Slavia Prague and Bodo/Glimt meet in the league phase of the competition.

The Czech side are competing in the group stage/league phase of the competition for the first time since 2019-20, while the Norwegians will play in the group stage/league phase of the tournament for the first time in their history.

Match preview

Slavia Prague finished top of the 2024-25 Czech First League to qualify directly for the league phase of this season's Champions League, and it is the first time that they are competing at this level since 2019-20.

The Red and Whites featured in the Europa League league phase last term, only managing to win one of their eight matches, finishing 30th in the table, so it was a very disappointing campaign.

Slavia Prague featured alongside Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona in the group stage of the 2019-20 Champions League, picking up two points in the process.

Jindrich Trpisovsky's side will face Inter Milan, Atalanta BC, Arsenal, Athletic Bilbao, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and FC Pafos in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League, and there is enough quality in their squad to cause a number of those teams major problems.

The Czech outfit are already eight matches into their 2025-26 domestic season, picking up 20 points from eight matches to sit top of the table, and they will enter this match off the back of three straight wins, including a 3-1 success over Karvina on Saturday.

Bodo/Glimt, meanwhile, are the reigning Eliteserien champions, but success in the league last season only qualified them for the playoff round of the Champions League rather than the league stage.

The Norwegian champions therefore had to navigate their way through a playoff fixture in order to be present in the league phase of the competition, and they beat Sturm Graz 6-2 on aggregate, winning the first leg 5-0 on home soil before suffering a 2-1 loss in the return match.

Kjetil Knutsen's side are 21 matches into their current Eliteserien campaign, picking up 48 points to sit at the top of the table, two points ahead of second-placed Viking on the same number of matches.

Bodo/Glimt made it to the semi-finals of the 2024-25 Europa League, with Tottenham Hotspur denying them a spot in the final, but this will be their first-ever participation in the Champions League proper.

Tuesday's match will actually be the first-ever fixture in the group stage/league phase of the Champions League between teams from the Czech Republic and Norway, so history will be made at Fortuna Arena.

Slavia Prague form (all competitions):

WWDWWW

Bodo/Glimt Champions League form:

Bodo/Glimt form (all competitions):

DWWLWW

Team News

Slavia Prague will be without the services of Dominik Javorcek and Emmanuel Fully on Wednesday due to injury problems, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape.

Lukas Provod has scored twice this season, and there will be a spot in the attack for the 28-year-old, while Christos Zafeiris is also likely to feature in the final third of the field.

Lukas Vorlicky has also been impressive this season, scoring twice in three appearances, and he could be introduced into the starting side on Wednesday night.

As for Bodo/Glimt, Brede Moe, Fredrik Bjorkan, Ole Didrik Blomberg, Kasper Hogh and Isak Maatta have been ruled out through injury, while Ulrik Saltnes and Ola Brynhildsen could also miss out.

Hogh's absence is a major one considering that he has scored 26 times this season, while their second-highest goalscorer this term is Saltnes, and he is also a major doubt.

Jens Petter Hauge is likely to feature in the final third of the field if Saltnes does indeed miss out, and the 25-year-old has come up with eight goals in all competitions this term.

Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:

Stanek; Chaloupek, Zima, Holes; Hashioka, Dorley, Provod, Zmrzly; Vorlicky, Chytil, Zafeiris

Bodo/Glimt possible starting lineup:

Haikin; Sjovold, Bjortuft, Gundersen, Riisnaes; Evjen, Berg, Auklend; Jorgensen, Helmersen, Hauge

We say: Slavia Prague 1-1 Bodo/Glimt

This is such a difficult match to call - cases can be made for both to win it, even with Bodo/Glimt having some key absentees. That said, it is likely to be tight, and both teams may have to accept a share of the spoils.

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