By Ian King
Form
Are we talking about Europe or domestically, here? Because Spurs have been the Jekyll and Hyde of the Premier League recently, losing their last three in a row while conceding eleven goals, but also putting in two of their most accomplished performances of the season in their quarter-final win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bodø/Glimt run to a different schedule. Because Norway has a summer league they’ve only just started their domestic season. The two-time defending Eliteserien champions are currently second with three wins and a draw from their opening four matches.
History makers
This is the first time that a Norwegian club has ever reached the semi-finals of a European competition, but Bodø/Glimt’s record against English clubs is pretty bad. They played Arsenal in 2022/23 and lost twice, and played Manchester United in the League Phase of this year’s tournament, losing 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Spurs have a 100% record against Norwegian clubs in Europe. In 1972/73 they beat Lyn 12-3 on aggregate, and they beat Tromsø 3-0 and 2-0 in the group stage of the 2013/14 Europa League.
Key Players
High points have been thin on the ground for Spurs this season, but the form of Dejan Kulusevski remains among them. He remains one of the keys to unlocking any opposing defence and has eight goals and six assists in all competitions this season. Glimt’s main goal threat is striker Kasper Høgh, who’s the joint-top goalscorer in this competition with seven and has started their League season with four in four appearances.
Team News
Spurs made eight changes for their shellacking at Anfield on Sunday, and most will be returning. Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero should return to central defence, replacing Ben Davies and Kevin Danso, while Rodrigo Bentancur will return to midfield. But Heung-min Son remains doubtful after having missed the last four matches and will sit this one out, with a return in the second leg looking more likely. They will be without Radu Drăgușin, while Antonin Kinsky and Timo Werner are not registered for the knockout stages of this competition.
Bodø/Glimt have Andreas Helmersen, captain Patrick Berg and Håkon Evjen suspended, while defender Odin Bjørtuft and winger Ole Blomberg were injured last weekend and may be missing.
Prediction
The result of this match will come down to whether Spurs bring their European or Premier League form into it. If they play as they have in recent League matches, then a surprise could be on the cards, but if they can replicate what they achieved in Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago a win should be expected. Bodø/Glimt have had an outstanding run to get this far in this competition and have it in them to keep themselves in the tie for the return match. 2-1 Spurs, so all to play for in the second leg.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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