Looking to get the defence of their top-tier crown back on track, Bodo/Glimt will welcome an out-of-form Sandefjord side to Aspmyra Stadion on Wednesday night in the Norwegian Eliteserien.
The Yellow Horde could only manage a share of the spoils with KFUM Oslo last time out, whilst the Whalers suffered defeat at the home of FK Haugesund to extend a losing run.
Match preview
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After three straight victories to commence May's Eliteserien campaign in flawless fashion, current champions Bodo/Glimt have collected just the single point from their last two league matches, losing 1-0 away at HamKam on May 20 before settling for a 2-2 draw with KFUM on home soil on Friday night.
Taking an early lead in the race for the division's Golden Boot, Albert Gronbaek netted his seventh of the season to give the Yellow Horde an advantage last time out, but strikes for KFUM from Petter Dahl and Johannes Hummelvoll-Nunez meant that Jens Petter Hauge's late counter was only good enough to salvage a point.
Despite stumbling in terms of results as the month draws to a close, Bodo/Glimt are still sitting pretty at the summit of the Eliteserien standings having earned 23 points from 10 league contests in 2024, possessing a two-point advantage over surprise package Fredrikstad and Brann in second and third respectively.
With his transformation of the Yellow Horde forcing clubs from around the continent to monitor his situation at Aspmyra Stadion, Kjetil Knutsen is continuing to deliver the goods as the manager of Wednesday's hosts, with the 55-year-old winning 162 of his 273 competitive matches in charge since taking the reins in November 2017.
Due to their ascension to the Norwegian throne in 2023, Bodo/Glimt are looking forward to the opportunity to qualify for the first edition of the revamped Champions League, but the Eliteserien champions will need to successfully advance through three rounds of qualifying to earn a spot in the 36-team league phase.
Experiencing the highs of back-to-back wins in the Eliteserien at the beginning of May, Sandefjord have swiftly returned to their relegation-fighting reality with a sequence of three straight defeats in the first tier, the most recent of which being a 2-1 loss to FK Haugesund on Sunday afternoon.
Netting his third goal of the 2024 schedule, veteran marksman Alexander Ruud Tveter gave the Whalers an unexpected lead at Haugesund Sparebank Arena, but second-half strikes from Julius Eseksen and Claus Niyukuri turned the result on its head and left the visitors empty-handed.
After flirting with the possibility of relegation over the past two years - finishing 14th in 2022 and 13th in 2023 - Andreas Tegstrom's troops are set to circle the top-tier plughole once again in 2024, with Wednesday's visitors to Bodo currently sat in 15th, three points adrift from Lillestrom in the relative safety of 13th.
The Whalers need to find a quick solution to their troubles on the road in order to give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding second-division football in 2025, with Sandefjord collecting just the single point from their first five Eliteserien outings of the campaign.
Not too dissimilar to the majority of sides in Norway over the past few years, Sandefjord's recent record against Bodo/Glimt does not make for nice viewing, with the Norwegian champions winning the last five editions of this fixture in the Eliteserien.
Team News
Bodo/Glimt are without the services of first-choice left-back Fredrik Andre Bjorkan, who suffered a thigh strain in early May and is not scheduled to return until next month.
The absence of the defender means that Adam Sorensen is set to continue on the left side of the hosts' backline, with Fredrik Sjovold operating at right-back.
After providing a pair of assists in the win over Kristiansund, Sondre Sorli picked up an ankle knock and will therefore be unavailable until early July.
Sandefjord's Darrell Tibell picked up an injury on his debut for the club at the beginning of the season and is now fighting back from the issue.
Young pairing Filip Loftesnes-Bjune and Marcus Melchior are yet to feature in a competitive sense this campaign due to knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Despite a third straight loss last time out, Tegstrom is not expected to make wholesale alterations to his XI, meaning that Stian Kristiansen and Fredrik Tobias Berglie should start once again at centre-back.
Bodo/Glimt possible starting lineup:
Haikin; Sjovold, Gundersen, Bjortuft; Wembangomo, Evjen, Berg, Gronbaek; Zugelj, Hauge, Hogh
Sandefjord possible starting lineup:
Keto; Pedersen, Berglie, Kristiansen, Egeli; Risan, Ottosson, Amin; Dunsby, Al-Saed, Ruud Tveter
We say: Bodo/Glimt 3-0 Sandefjord
Despite their struggles in recent matches, Bodo/Glimt will be overwhelming favourites to collect maximum points on Wednesday night, strengthening their grip on top spot in the Eliteserien.
Sandefjord have conceded at least two goals in each of their last three games, and we can envisage that run continuing against the division's deadliest attack at Aspmyra Stadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
