Champions League
2026-02-18 - Bodo-Glimt vs Inter Milan
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Knock Out Play Off First Leg
Wednesday 18th February 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Bodo/Glimt
Over the last several years, Bodo/Glimt have been growing and developing and they have started to make an impact in UEFA competitions as much as they have domestically. Since the Covid pandemic, Bodo/Glimt have reached the Quarter Final in the Conference League and the Semi Final in the Europa League and they were only beat in the last four by eventual Winners Tottenham Hotspur last season.
Making an impact in the Champions League had been beyond them and Bodo/Glimt made it through the Play Off Qualifying Round to take their place in the thirty-six team table. After six games, Bodo/Glimt were facing elimination square in the face, but the team finished 23rd to sneak through thanks to consecutive upsets of Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. The side finished with a 1-1-2 record at home, but will feel they have already overachieved by making it through to the Knock Out Play Off Round.
Bodo/Glimt are currently in the off-season domestically with the Norwegian top flight played from March through to November, but those wins in the Champions League last month will have given the squad a huge boost. They finished 2nd domestically, but that means they will have an opportunity to play in the Champions League Qualifiers again in July. Bodo/Glimt have won 3 of the last 4 at home in all competitions, but the exception was a 2-3 defeat to Juventus.
Inter Milan
It looks like Inter Milan are rounding into really strong form and that makes the 2025 Champions League Runners Up a dangerous opponent in the Knock Out Rounds of the 2026 edition of the competition. They have perhaps surprisingly only won the Serie A title once in the last four years, despite feeling the dominant club domestically, but Inter Milan are on course to retain the title they allowed to slip from their grasp at the end of last season.
Unlike the previous campaign, Inter Milan have failed to finish in the top eight of the Champions League standings, but a 10th place finish means they get to host the Second Leg of this Knock Out Play Off tie. Perhaps surprisingly, but it was the form at the San Siro that prevented another top eight finish and Inter Milan put together a 3-0-1 away record in the Champions League where they scored 9 goals and conceded just twice.
Inter Milan won the Derby d'Italia this past weekend when beating Juventus 3-2 at home and they have won 8 of the last 9 games played in all competitions, including the last 6 in succession. The side have won 8 away games in a row in all competitions since losing deep into injury time at Atletico Madrid.
There will be some changes made to the starting eleven as manager Christian Chivu continues to lead his team on two fronts, but a strong Inter Milan team will travel to the Artic Circle.
Head to Head
These two clubs met in the 1978/79 Cup Winners' Cup and it was Inter Milan who progressed 7-1 on aggregate with wins in both Legs.
Prediction
You have to expect Inter Milan are going to be too strong over the two Legs, but the First Leg hosted by Bodo/Glimt offers the Norwegian club the best opportunity to lay the foundation for an upset.
Dismissing their chances in Italy would be a mistake considering Bodo/Glimt have been facing 'Knock Out' ties since Match Day 6 of the League Phase in the competition.
They looked down and out at that moment, but Bodo/Glimt have shown real character and class to beat Manchester City 3-1 at home and then upset Atletico Madrid 1-2 in the Spanish capital to sneak through to the Knock Out Play Off Round.
Failing to win either would have meant elimination and that means Bodo/Glimt are playing with 'house money', while the club are experienced having reached the Europa League Semi Final last season.
They are hosting an opponent who were Runners Up in the Champions League and Inter Milan have continued to display real toughness.
The wins are piling up and Inter Milan will travel having won 8 away games in a row in all competitions and having only conceded once in that run of victories. This is a team that will cause problems going forward and Inter Milan are not too concerned about playing away from home in the Champions League having 3 of the 4 games in that spot this season, including the 0-2 win at Borussia Dortmund on Match Day 8.
Conditions are going to be very cold- snow has been falling heavily, while the playing surface is artificial and not something the top European clubs have been prepared to play on.
It did not stop Juventus winning 2-3 here in December in a fixture where the Italian club created the best opportunities, while Monaco have also won at Bodo/Glimt.
You don't want to ignore those results in January, but Inter Milan look composed right now and there is still a feeling the lack of consistent competitive football will hurt Bodo/Glimt, even if it hasn't over the last few weeks.
Bodo/Glimt will certainly want to get into the faces of the more illustrious opponents, but Inter Milan have shown real quality at both ends of the pitch and they can find a way to score at least twice in edging to a victory here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bodo/Glimt 1-2 Inter Milan
