Bodo/Glimt (Nor) vs Sturm Graz (Aut) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-08-19 19:00.
[p]Norway’s Bodø/Glimt take on Austria’s Sturm Graz in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) qualifying play-off round, with the winner of this two-legged tie reaching the league phase.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Bodø/Glimt sit at the Norwegian summit after Friday’s 5-0 win over Strømsgodset, and come into this fixture in great form having won seven of their last eight matches (D1), while they’ve also won their last seven UCL qualifying games at home. The Norwegian champions are now making their third appearance at this stage of the competition, although ominously they’ve lost their previous two play-off ties against Dinamo Zagreb (2022/23) and Red Star Belgrade (2024/25) despite winning the home leg on both occasions.[/p]
[p]That makes the scale of the challenge for the visitors here perfectly clear as they head into the Arctic Circle, but the reigning Austrian champions at least travel on the back of a come-from-behind 3-1 league win over Ried on Saturday for their third victory of the season (L1). They finished 30th in the UCL league phase last term after losing all four away games, suggesting that they may struggle in their first play-off appearance since losing 3-1 on aggregate to BATE Borisov in 2011/12.[/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]This will not only be the first-ever meeting between these sides, but Bodø’s first clash with Austrian opposition. Sturm’s only experience of Norwegian opponents is two games against Haugesund in Europa League qualifying in 2019 (W1, L1), a tie they lost 3-2 on aggregate.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]There were over 3.5 goals in four of Bodø/Glimt’s last six fixtures (W5, D1).[/p]
[p]Each of Bodø’s last three games witnessed scoring between the 40th minute and half-time.[/p]
[p]Each of Sturm’s last five UCL fixtures produced an odd number of goals (W2, L3).[/p]
[p]Sturm have received fewer than three bookings in each of their last three games.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Kasper Høgh has scored five times across Bodø/Glimt’s last three games, opening the scoring within the opening 25 minutes in each of those fixtures. Otar Kiteishvili has netted five times in Sturm’s last four games, including three goals between the fifth and 20th minute.[/p]
[p]Bodø look likely to be without Jostein Gundersen and Ole Blomberg, while Sturm will be unable to call upon long-term injury absentee Aleksandar Borković.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Bodø/Glimt are hard to beat in Europe on home soil, so backing them to win this first leg outright seems like a solid option, especially given Sturm’s struggles on the road in Europe last term.[/p]
[p][i]Author: John Pennington[/i][/p]