Bodoe/Glimt – Manchester City

The match favorite confidently dispatches the Norwegian champion.

Bodø/Glimt fully enjoyed success on the European stage last season. The Norwegian champions had in previous years delivered decent runs in continental competitions as well, but had not yet reached the semi-finals. After losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the previous Europa League edition, the competition's future winner, Bodø/Glimt acquired the necessary class to test their strength once again at the level of an elite European tournament. So far, for the Norwegian champions, things haven't gone well, but there have been glimpses. In six group-stage matches of the Champions League, the team has lost three times and drawn three times. Among the clubs from which Bodø/Glimt took points were Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, and Slavia Prague. At home, the Norwegians have earned only one point, when they drew with Tottenham, whom they had led 2-0 during the match. The real problem for Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League is their defense, which concedes more than two goals per game on average. If the Norwegian champions head into the seventh group-stage round with no real chance of finishing in the Top 24, Manchester City is eager to keep their place in the Top 8 to bypass the qualifying rounds. Pep Guardiola's side, like Arsenal, could have had the maximum possible points, but had previously suffered two unfortunate slips. In the first case, Manchester City at Louis II allowed Monaco to come back with a 90th-minute equalizer, conceding a penalty. In the second case, the Spanish coach decided to punish several key players for the defeat in Newcastle, and for the match against Bayer Leverkusen he fielded reserves, for which he paid with a team defeat. Moreover, Manchester City, besides their tournament motivation, has another task in Norway — to redeem themselves for the defeat in the Manchester derby. The Citizens approached it as favorites, but Manchester United comfortably won the first leg under Michael Carrick. Overall, Guardiola has plenty of information about the opponent and ample experience beating such tough opponents. Let's bet that the visitors will win in Norway by a convincing margin.