Porto make the long trip north to within the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt in their Europa League opener on Wednesday.
The Norwegian champions have garnered a reputation of being a very difficult side to face away from home in European competition, as the visitors will leave sunny Portugal to brave the elements in northern Norway.
Match preview
© Imago
Bodo/Glimt will begin their European campaign with a first-ever meeting against a Portuguese club, in a competition where they have caused a stir previously.
Two years ago, Bodo stunned Europe by thrashing Roma 6-1 in the group stages, and they would also go on to reach the quarter-finals that season, where the Giallorossi exacted revenge to knock Kjetil Knutsen's side out.
Knutsen is still in charge and saw his side narrowly miss out on a first Champions League qualification over the summer.
After knocking RFS and Jagiellonia Bialystok out in qualifying, and beating Red Star Belgrade in the first leg of the playoffs, Bodo fell agonisingly short for the second season running, losing in the Serbian capital to drop into the Europa League.
Knutsen's men have been handed one of the toughest draws too, facing Nice and Besiktas from pot four, while they will also have to go away to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
While being ranked rather low in the UEFA standings, going away to Bodo/Glimt is an arduous task, on a plastic pitch in freezing temperatures, as they have won 24 of their 30 home European games since returning to continental competition in 2020.
Bodo come into this fixture having won their previous eight home matches in all competitions, losing on twice on home soil in 2024, against Lillestrom in the cup with a heavily rotated side, and after extra time to Ajax in the Conference League.
Confidence may be knocked slightly though, as Bodo suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat away to second-placed Brann at the weekend, cutting their lead at the top of the Eliteserien from 10 points to seven.
© Imago
Porto will look to capitalise on that as they have made a decent start to their own season in Portugal, and will look to compete with an impressive Sporting Lisbon side at the top.
It was a defeat to Sporting earlier this month that handed Vitor Bruno his first defeat in charge though, meaning Porto are now already playing catch up on the champions.
An impressive 3-0 win away to fellow European competitors Guimaraes at the weekend was the perfect preparation for this fixture, and kept the gap to Sporting down to just three points though.
The start of their Europa League campaign could be potentially tricky for Porto, making such a long away trip here, before facing Manchester United next week.
This is just their third season in the Europa League since its rebranding from the UEFA Cup, and after winning on their debut in 2010-11, Porto went out at the preliminary knockout stage in 2019-20.
Team News
© Imago
While Bodo/Glimt have a long list of players currently sidelined with injury, it is still the departure of Albert Gronbaek to Rennes which will be most sorely felt.
Philip Zinckernagel has come in on loan to replace the outgoing winger, and the former Watford man got his first goal for the club in the weekend defeat at Brann.
Among those on the lengthy injury list are Nino Zugelj and Brice Wembangomo, who will be big misses for Knutsen, but Jostein Gundersen could return after illness to replace Brede Moe in the centre of defence.
Porto's Fabio Vieira is edging closer to a return from injury so he can make his second debut for the club after rejoining from Arsenal on loan over the summer.
The club brought in Samu Omorodion to replace Bournemouth-bound Evanilson, and the young Spanish forward netted twice on his full debut at the weekend, initially earning a start by scoring off the bench against Farense a week earlier.
Elsewhere on the injury front, defensive duo Zaidu Sanusi and Ivan Marcano remain out with serious knee injuries.
Bodo/Glimt possible starting lineup:
Haikin; Sjovold, Gundersen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan; Berg, Evjen, Fet; Zinckernagel, Hogh, Hauge
Porto possible starting lineup:
Diogo Costa; Joao Mario, Perez, Jose Pedro, Francisco Moura; Eustaquio, Varela, Nico; Ivan Jaime, Omorodion, Galeno
We say: Bodo/Glimt 2-2 Porto
Porto have won six of their previous eight games against Norwegian sides, but this is an altogether different challenge given the climate and the pitch, and it will take some adjusting to.
The visitors have not kept a clean sheet in 15 Europa League games, and Bodo/Glimt have proven repeatedly they are capable of troubling some elite clubs in Europe, and they may cause a few more issues here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
