Tottenham Hotspur will be travelling to the Arctic Circle on Tuesday night as they prepare to kick off their Champions League game against Bodo/Glimt. While the Norwegian side is one of the most followed teams by analysts around the globe, it is highly unlikely for an English team to face them regularly.
But not for the Lilywhites; the North Londoners will be facing them just four months down from that Europa League semi-final from last season.
“Moved up a step” – Havard Sakariassen has warned Thomas Frank & Co ahead of Bodo game
It was back in May when the Lilywhites played Bodo. It was still back when Ange Postecoglou was in charge of the club and was on a quest to lead Tottenham to their first silverware for years. And it was barely a tie as Tottenham brushed aside the Norwegian outfit on a commanding 5-1 aggregate score. The win here helped them book their place in the Europa League final.
And many Tottenham supporters feel that this Tuesday will be a similar outing. But Bodo sporting director Havard Sakariassen has warned Thomas Frank & Co. that they will now be facing a team that has “moved up a step” since they last met.
Speaking to PA (via. Independent), Sakariassen said:
“Tottenham actually played a really good game here at Aspmyra. Really well organised, loyal to the plan and of course they have really world-class players.
For us it was a lot of learning… was there enough level on the physical side? That brought something to the table we are grateful for.
We have since worked in a better, more reflective way, and I think that made us stronger. Hopefully when we meet again, we show we have moved up a step.”
Tottenham will travel to Norway after their frustrating 1-1 draw against Wolves at the weekend. It was an underwhelming performance where Tottenham lost their cool and structure, and it took a stoppage-time equaliser from Joao Palhinha to spare blushes against a bottom-of-the-table Wolves side.
And going into the game this Tuesday, Thomas Frank will surely demand his side to be more proactive in their executions.
It would be a fiery atmosphere at Aspmyra Stadion
Knowing the atmosphere at Aspmyra Stadion, it won’t be sparing in any way, given that Bodo have confirmed that their 8,000-seater ground has been sold out for tomorrow’s game for weeks. The demand for this game in Norway is so high that Bodo’s executive claimed that the club could have sold “20 or 30,000 tickets” if they had a bigger stadium.
We saw Bodo showing some sense of resilience in the first match day of the Champions League, where they came back from 2-0 down to draw against Slavia Prague. And it does look like this side has toughened up a bit physically since facing Tottenham in May. And Knutsen & Co. will be desperate to prove that against elite opposition.
Tottenham go into this game as heavy favourites. But they did so as well against Wolves. But Norwegian minnows will be hungry to prove that they have grown since last time around as well.