Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2025-05-07 19:00.
[p]It may have appeared little more than a consolation at the time, but Ulrik Saltnes’ late strike breathed life into Bodø/Glimt’s inaugural UEFA Europa League (UEL) semi-final appearance, reducing their deficit to two goals after the first leg against Tottenham (3-1). The Norwegians have made their way through the knockout stage by losing away while winning handsomely on home soil, providing hope that they can repeat the trick here and become the first Norwegian finalist in any men’s UEFA club competition.[/p]
[p]Thursday’s defeat was Bodø’s fourth from as many meetings with England opponents, having also lost 3-2 at Manchester United during the league phase. Their home form offers hope of a maiden success, as they’re on a six-game home winning streak across all competitions this calendar year, with all those victories coming by multiple-goal margins, including three in this competition and one as the underdogs (2-0 v Lazio). [/p]
[p]Tottenham will likely head to Norway without at least one of their three goalscorers from the home leg after manager Ange Postecoglou revealed that James Maddison’s prognosis “isn’t looking promising”. He was much more hopeful that Dominic Solanke would appear after being rested at the weekend, while captain Son Heung-min returned to training last week, but his recovery was also unclear heading into the week. [/p]
[p]This won’t be Postecoglou’s first visit to Bodø, but it already appears much more promising than his last, having infamously overseen a 2-0 loss with previous club Celtic in February 2022. The Scottish side also lost their home leg 3-1, but the Australian has every reason to be confident of a better result on this occasion, particularly as Spurs haven’t suffered a 2+ goal defeat during this UEL cycle.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Saltnes appears the most likely source of a Bodø miracle not just because he scored in the first leg, but also as he netted a double in the 2-0 quarter-final win at home to Lazio. This tie could be over quickly if Brennan Johnson comes anywhere close to replicating his new record for the quickest goal in a UEL semi-final (39 seconds) – two of his other three strikes in the competition also came before half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Tottenham have progressed from 18 of their previous 21 UEFA knockout ties when winning the first leg. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]