Slavia Prague vs Bodo Glimt Prediction for 18 September 2025 - Football

🔊 How will Bodø/Glimt's Champions League debut unfold? The surprise team of last season's Europa League continues to impress, making their first-ever appearance in Europe's premier tournament. For Slavia Prague, this will be their third campaign, but the more experienced Czech side hasn't heard the Champions League anthem since 2020. Which team will cherish it more? We'll find out on September 17 at the "Fortuna Arena." Let's delve into the key storylines of the match in our prediction to ensure it's as insightful as possible.

Head-to-Head

📊 These teams have not faced each other before.

Slavia Prague Team Overview

Head coach Jindřich Trpišovský has already led Slavia Prague in the Champions League during the 2019/20 season. Back then, in a group with Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona, his squad managed to secure a couple of draws. Since then, the Czech team reached the quarter-finals of both the Conference League and the Europa League. However, the revamped format hasn't been as kind to them; last season, they finished 30th out of 36 and failed to advance to the playoffs. On the bright side, the club clinched the Czech First League title after a two-year hiatus, earning them direct entry into the main stage of the Champions League. In the current league campaign, Slavia sit atop the standings with six wins and two draws.

Slavia consistently score heavily and lead in goals in the Czech championship. However, they lack a standout striker. The most prolific players are forward Vasil Kušej and midfielder Lukáš Provod, both tallying 2 goals and 4 assists.

Bodo/Glimt Team Overview

Under the guidance of Kjetil Knutsen, the Norwegians made quite a splash on the European stage last season. Bodø/Glimt advanced to the Europa League playoffs, where they knocked out Twente, Olympiacos, and Lazio. However, in the semifinals, they were drawn against the eventual tournament winners, Tottenham (1-3; 0-2). This season, the Norwegians kicked off their European campaign in the Champions League qualifying playoffs, confidently overcoming Sturm Graz (5-0; 1-2). In Eliteserien, Knutsen's squad is also performing well, leading the table after 21 rounds.

The headline act in Bodø/Glimt's attack is Kasper Højer. The forward has netted 16 goals in 20 Eliteserien matches and added another in Champions League qualification. Following him is midfielder Ulrik Saltnes, who matches that European stat and has contributed 11 goal involvements in the league (7 goals, 4 assists).

Latest news

Slavia Prague

❌ Slavia will be without their new signing Dominik Javorcek in the upcoming game. The former Holstein Kiel defender has undergone knee surgery and is unlikely to return to the pitch this year. The main intrigue centers around the participation of Lukas Vorlicky. The young Czech talent, who came through Atalanta's academy, only moved to Prague last season but primarily played for the second team. However, in the last First League match, he came off the bench to score a brace, matching the goal tally of Slavia's attacking leaders.

Bodo/Glimt

❌ Bodo/Glimt face a significant setback ahead of their match with the absence of their top scorer, Kasper Heer. News of his injury emerged only after the international break, and the forward is expected to be sidelined for several weeks. The attacking woes don't end there: since July, another key player, Ole Blumberg, has been recovering from a ligament tear.

🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards

🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards

The Romanian referee Marian Barbu has been appointed for the match. In four games of the current Romanian championship, he has averaged 4.25 yellow cards per game. However, his numbers in European competitions are more modest, with just one card across two Europa League and Conference League qualifiers.

Slavia are known for their provocative play: in eight matches in the First League, their opponents have received four red cards. But Bodo/Glimt, unlike Slavia's other opponents, are not known for rough play: in 7 of their last 8 Eliteserien matches, the Norwegians haven't picked up a single booking. We'll bank on the visitors' sportsmanship and take Slavia to win with a handicap (0) on yellow cards.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

Matches involving Bodo/Glimt tend to be more high-scoring than those of Slavia, averaging 4.6 goals compared to 3.2 over their last 10 games. While Bodo/Glimt's goals are evenly distributed across halves, Slavia tends to score more in the second half, with a ratio of 2 to 1.2. Interestingly, Bodo also enjoys scoring after the break, especially away from home (in 6 of their last 7 matches). Based on this, we believe that the second half will be more productive than the first.

🚩 Corner Prediction

Bodo/Glimt dominated their Champions League qualifier opponent Sturm in terms of corners (5:1 at home; 8:3 away). Overall, the Norwegians average a substantial number of set-pieces from the corner flag, with 7.9 per game over their last 10 matches. Meanwhile, in eight consecutive Slavia matches, there have been more than 8.5 corners recorded. If both teams combine their efforts, they could potentially earn more than 9.5 corners in total.

Bookmakers are not impressed with Bodø/Glimt's performance in the Champions League qualifiers: the odds for the hosts are more than double that of their opponents. Yet the Norwegians had a strong spring in the Europa League, unphased by either Olympiacos or Lazio. However, in their current form and with all their personnel losses, Bodø are a different side, particularly in attack. The visitors will struggle without their leading scorer, but they remain highly organized defensively, having conceded just 19 goals in 21 Eliteserien matches (the best record by a margin). A draw seems the most likely and fair outcome here, perhaps a 1-1 scoreline. The teams are closely matched, so their encounter promises to be competitive and full of battles. This could affect the quality of football and its goal-scoring potential. Our main pick: total under 3.5 goals.