Bodø/Glimt welcome Inter to the Arctic Circle for the first leg of this Champions League knockout play-off tie at Aspmyra Stadion. The Norwegians finished 23rd in the league phase with nine points, while Inter secured 10th place with 15 points after winning five of their eight matches. Inter enter as clear favorites given their European pedigree and three Champions League titles, but Kjetil Knutsen's side has proven capable of stunning Europe's elite on their home artificial pitch.
Bodø/Glimt arrive with momentum after back-to-back shocks against two of Europe's giants. On January 20, they defeated Manchester City 3-1 at Aspmyra before traveling to Madrid and beating Atlético 2-1 on the final matchday. That comeback victory at the Metropolitano saw them fall behind early before goals from Fredrik Sjøvold and Kasper Høgh secured the win. Their loss to Juventus (2-3) on November 25 remains their last defeat, and they've since gone four matches unbeaten with three wins and a draw.
Cristian Chivu's Inter come to Norway riding a six-match winning streak across all competitions. Their most recent outing delivered a dramatic 3-2 Derby d'Italia triumph over Juventus at San Siro, with Piotr Zieliński striking in stoppage time. That victory extended Inter's Serie A unbeaten run to 12 matches and pushed them eight points clear at the top of the table. Before that, they hammered Sassuolo 5-0 away and edged Torino 2-1 in the Coppa Italia, demonstrating their attacking depth. Their last defeat came on January 20 when Arsenal won 3-1 at San Siro in the Champions League.
These sides have met only once before in European competition. In the 1978-79 Cup Winners' Cup, Inter crushed Bodø/Glimt 5-0 at the San Siro in the first leg before completing a 2-1 win in Norway for a commanding 7-1 aggregate victory. Nearly five decades later, the landscape has shifted. Bodø/Glimt have since become Norwegian champions four times under Knutsen and reached a Europa League semi-final in 2025, while Inter are chasing redemption after losing last season's Champions League final 5-0 to PSG.
My prediction is Both Teams To Score at 1.53. Inter's strong run includes a 2-1 Coppa Italia win and a 3-2 league thriller in their last two home matches, while Bodø/Glimt have scored in all four games during their current unbeaten stretch. The visitors have conceded just seven goals in eight Champions League matches this season, but the Norwegians' 14 goals from their league phase campaign shows they carry genuine threat. The xG projection (1.41–2.11) supports a 1-2 finish.
