Bodø/Glimt have no advantage to talk about today, so when the German press has to explain a possible loss, they have to resort to football-professional conditions, despite the fact that the special Norwegian artificial turf will have to go through.
Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovač has a theory that small players do better in artificial turf than bigger players.
Well soon we will get the answer!! – Here you can follow the highlights from Aspmyra.
Kovac adapted the team to the artificial turf – now Bodø/Glimt and Dortmund meet again
Since the match was to be played on artificial turf, Kovac explained to DAZN that he had adapted his players – especially in terms of height – somewhat to the conditions.
“I think that smaller players do a little better on artificial turf,” said the coach.
Knutsen made two changes – Kovac rotated five
After the 3-1 win against Kristiansund BK in the Eliteserien, Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen made two changes to his starting line-up: Aleesami and Helmersen replaced Bjørtuft (suspended) and Brynhildsen (on the bench).
Niko Kovac rotated his squad five times in the far north compared to the 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga: Bensebaini, Veerman, Karetsas, Inácio and Fábio Silva started in place of Schlotterbeck (workload management), Nmecha, Nwaneri, Sabitzer and Guirassy (all on the bench).
This will be the teams’ second meeting
The two teams had met before: on match round 6, Borussia Dortmund and Bodø/Glimt played 2–2 in Germany. Brandt scored twice to give the home team the lead, but the Norwegians responded through Aleesami and former Eintracht Frankfurt player Hauge. It was the only previous meeting between the two teams in an international competition.
Bodø/Glimt’s European adventure last year
Last year, the Norwegians were one of the biggest surprises in the Champions League, with 3-1 wins at home to Manchester City and Inter Milan in the league round – and qualification all the way to the last eight, where they first beat Sporting Lisbon 3-0 in the first leg. In the second leg in the Portuguese capital, they then lost 5-0 after extra time and were knocked out.
Dortmund chase another win after Villarreal triumph
Borussia Dortmund started the 2026/27 Champions League season with a 3-2 win against Villarreal before the long international break. Today, the West Falcons play their first away game in the Champions League at 21:00 north of the Arctic Circle – against FK Bodø/Glimt in Norway.
Match facts before Bodø/Glimt – Borussia Dortmund
20:51
The referee for the match is Swiss Urs Schnyder, and his compatriot Fedayi San acts as VAR.
20:35
Regarding the match played on artificial turf, Kovac explained to DAZN that he had adjusted his players a bit to the conditions – especially in terms of height. “I think that smaller players do somewhat better on artificial turf,” the coach said.
20:06
After the 3-1 win against Kristiansund BK in the Norwegian Eliteserien, Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen made two changes to the starting lineup: Aleesami and Helmersen replaced Bjørtuft (suspended) and Brynhildsen (on the bench).
19:58
Niko Kovac has made five changes to his starting line-up in the northern regions compared to the 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga: Bensebaini, Veerman, Karetsas, Inácio and Fábio Silva start in place of Schlotterbeck (workload), Nmecha, Nwaneri, Sabitzer and Guirassy (all on the bench).
19:55
The two opponents have already faced each other: in match round 6, Borussia Dortmund and Bodø/Glimt played 2-2 in Germany. Brandt scored twice to give the home team the lead, but the Norwegians responded through Aleesami and former Eintracht Frankfurt player Hauge. It was the only previous meeting between the two teams in an international competition.
19:53
Last year, the Norwegians were among the biggest surprises in the Champions League. They won 3-1 at home to Manchester City and Inter Milan in the league, and even qualified for the last eight, where they followed up with a 3-0 win against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg. In the second leg in the Portuguese capital, the team then lost 0-5 after extra time and were knocked out.
19:46
Borussia Dortmund started the 2026/27 Champions League season with a 3-2 win against Villarreal before the long international break. Today, the West Falcons travel north of the Arctic Circle to Norway to face FK Bodø/Glimt in their first away game of the tournament, with kick-off at 21:00.
