Italian giants Inter Milan travel to the Arctic Circle on Wednesday night to take on Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt at the Aspmyra Stadion in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie.
Inter’s fantastic run of form in Serie A continued at the weekend, as they secured a late dramatic 3-2 victory over Juventus in the Derby d’Italia on Saturday night.
Christian Chivu’s men have now won each of their last six and 12 of their past 13 Serie A contests (W12-D1-L0), leaving them eight points clear of second-placed Milan, albeit their city-rivals have a game in hand.
However, despite winning 0-2 in Dortmund on MD8 of the league phase, the Nerazzurri missed out on a top-eight position by a solitary point.
Bodo/Glimt looked as if they were going to fail to make it out of the league phase after picking up just two points across their opening five matches (W0-D2-L3).
However, a 2-2 draw in Dortmund, followed by back-to-back wins over both Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, meant that Kjetil Knutsen’s squeezed into the playoff round on goal difference.
That victory in Madrid at the end of last month was the last time Bodo were in competitive action, with their league season not kicking off until the middle of March.
How the bookies view it: Inter favourites
Inter are favourites to take a first-leg lead back to Milan, with bet365 pricing an away success at just 4/6.
Bodo are 15/4 underdogs to claim a third consecutive win in the competition, whilst the draw is 31/10.
Head to head: History with the Italians
These two clubs' only previous meetings came in the last 16 of the old Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1978/79 season, with the Nerazzurri winning 7-1 on aggregate.
Players to watch: Dimarco to deliver again?
Federico Dimarco is having another stellar campaign for the Nerazzurri, scoring six goals and providing an incredible 14 assists across his 32 appearances in all competitions.
Two of those goals and seven of those assists have come across his last five appearances – including a stunning free kick in Dortmund on MD8 – and the 13/10 on offer at bet365 for the Italian international to provide another goal contribution on Wednesday night appeals to me.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Bodo Glimt are expected to be without Sondre Fet, whilst Denzel Dumfries appears to be Inter’s only casualty.
Bodo/Glimt: Haikan, Sjovold, Bjortuft, Gundersen, Bjorkan, Berg, Evjen, Maata, Blomberg, Hauge, Hogh
Inter: Sommer, Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni, Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Thuram, Martinez
Anything else catch the eye?
Goals have once again been a feature of Bodo/Glimt matches in Europe this campaign, with their opening eight league phase matches averaging an impressive 3.63 goals per game.
Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals has paid out in seven (88%) of those – including a 2-3 loss against fellow Serie A side Juventus in November – and a repeat pays an appealing 17/20 at William Hill.
What’s more, Over 2.5 Goals has landed in five of Inter’s last seven Champions League matches, with three of their past five also producing goals at both ends.
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