[2026-27 UEFA Champions League] FK Bodø/Glimt vs Borussia Dortmund preview and analysis Kick-off: 19:00 UTC on 14 October
FK Bodø/Glimt and Borussia Dortmund meet at Aspmyra Stadion in Bodø, Norway, at 19:00 UTC on 14 October for their second match in the UEFA Champions League league phase. After a 0-5 defeat in their opener, FK Bodø/Glimt have plenty of reason to target points at home. Dortmund head into their first Champions League away game of the season after winning their opening match.
1. Match overview and team form
FK Bodø/Glimt sit 36th in the league phase with no points after losing away to Bayern Munich. Dortmund are 14th on three points after beating Villarreal 3-2 at home. Both teams are near the top of their domestic leagues. FK Bodø/Glimt have 53 points from 22 Eliteserien matches and share first place with Viking FK, while Dortmund are second after five Bundesliga rounds. League positions alone, though, do not tell us how wide the gap will be in this match.
Champions League opener: FK Bodø/Glimt lost 0-5 away to Bayern Munich; Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 at home Last 20 competitive matches: FK Bodø/Glimt 15 wins, 3 draws, 2 defeats; Dortmund 13 wins, 2 draws, 5 defeats Key defensive absences: FK Bodø/Glimt's Odin Luras Bjortuft is suspended; Dortmund have left Nico Schlotterbeck out of the travelling squad
Those last 20 matches span multiple competitions. Fourteen of FK Bodø/Glimt's were in the Norwegian league, while 13 of Dortmund's came in the second half of last season. Recent defensive form deserves a closer look. FK Bodø/Glimt have conceded in seven straight competitive matches. They created plenty of chances and won 3-1 away to Kristiansund last time out, but coach Kjetil Knutsen pointed to a drop in performance after the break and the goal conceded. Dortmund are unbeaten in seven competitive matches since their Super Cup defeat, but let a 2-0 lead slip against Werder Bremen, conceding in the 88th minute and stoppage time.
FK Bodø/Glimt's attack at Aspmyra should not be taken lightly. Last season they beat Manchester City 3-1 and Inter 3-1 there, and Sporting CP 3-0. They have also won eight and drawn one of their last nine home matches. Most of those results came against Norwegian league opposition, though, and they lost at home to Monaco and Juventus in last season's Champions League. Kasper Høgh, who scored twice against Manchester City, has since left the club. Knutsen needs to find a way for his current forwards to trouble Dortmund's defence rather than rely on last season's scorelines.
Andreas Helmersen is filling the scoring role Høgh left behind. He has 12 league goals this year and came off the bench to score against Kristiansund. He is expected to return to the starting XI here. Centre-back Bjortuft, meanwhile, is suspended after his red card against Bayern Munich. Haitam Aleesami is the likely replacement, though there is uncertainty over who will partner him. Håkon Evjen is out injured. He was the starting point for the wide attack that led to FK Bodø/Glimt's equaliser against Dortmund last time.
Schlotterbeck's absence affects Dortmund in both defence and attack. He usually plays on the left of the back three, helping build from the back and offering a target in the box at set pieces. Coach Niko Kovac left him out of the travelling squad after considering his ankle and the medical team's advice. If Daniel Svensson drops into the back three, someone else must take on the attacking role at left wing-back. If Ramy Bensebaini starts at centre-back, Svensson can stay wide, but Bensebaini has played only 21 minutes across two substitute appearances in the league this season. We cannot be sure which setup will start until matchday.
The teams' only previous competitive meeting was a 2-2 draw at Dortmund in December 2025. Dortmund created more, with 22 shots to seven and an expected-goals tally of 3.19 to 1.38, but FK Bodø/Glimt came from behind twice. Julian Brandt, who scored both Dortmund goals, and Høgh, who led the runs in behind for FK Bodø/Glimt, will not feature today. That match offers a reference for how the teams attack, but we cannot use its scoreline to predict this result.
The setting has changed too. Waldemar Anton said the ball moves faster on Aspmyra's artificial surface than on natural grass. Dortmund trained at the stadium the day before the match, while FK Bodø/Glimt play their home games on the same surface. This is the first of three away matches in a row for Dortmund. They visit Union Berlin three days later and Qarabag six days later. FK Bodø/Glimt also have an away trip to HamKam in three days, but Helmersen's minutes were managed in their previous match. The forecast calls for no rain around kick-off and lighter winds than earlier in the day.
2. Match-up analysis
The key first-half question is whether FK Bodø/Glimt can play through Dortmund's press from the back. Knutsen expects Dortmund to press man to man high up the pitch, with space opening up behind them if an opponent beats the press. Patrick Berg connects passes in midfield for FK Bodø/Glimt, but the centre-back pairing feeding him will change because of Bjortuft's suspension. If Dortmund cut off the passes into Berg, Aleesami and his new defensive partner will need to find a first pass out wide or forward.
The previous meeting showed the risk. Fabio Silva pressed Aleesami on the ball and won possession, leading to Dortmund's opener. Dortmund also scored a goal against Hoffenheim this season after Anton won the ball high up the pitch. If FK Bodø/Glimt can find their first pass, though, they will have room to attack behind the players who step forward to press. How well the home side can create that situation with short passes on a surface they know well will shape their attacking volume in the first half.
The next contest is down Dortmund's left, where FK Bodø/Glimt can target the space around the visitors' wing-back. When Dortmund's wing-backs push forward, the outside centre-back has to deal with the opposing winger directly. Svensson or Bensebaini is expected to fill Schlotterbeck's place. Ole Didrik Blomberg has five goals and seven assists in the league this season, while Jens Petter Hauge has five goals and four assists. Which of them can attack Dortmund's left will depend on the starting lineup. If FK Bodø/Glimt can create one-on-ones down that flank and deliver into the box, Helmersen will pose a threat in front of goal.
That attack depends on Dortmund leaving space to exploit. If the visitors defend in shape and let their opponents have the ball, as they did away to Stuttgart, FK Bodø/Glimt will have fewer chances to get in behind the wing-backs. Kovac's side won that match 1-0 with 44% possession. Given the away schedule and a new combination on the left of defence, Dortmund could choose their pressing moments carefully and hold their shape the rest of the time. FK Bodø/Glimt would then need to keep the ball and work passes into the penalty area. Monaco showed last season that a team can defend at Aspmyra and score on the counter, winning 1-0.
If FK Bodø/Glimt score first, Dortmund will have to commit more players forward, leaving space behind their advanced wing-backs for the home side to attack. FK Bodø/Glimt would still need to deal with Dortmund's attacking substitutes while protecting a lead. If Dortmund score first by winning the ball during FK Bodø/Glimt's build-up, the home side may push their full-backs higher. Then the new centre-back pairing will have to deal with Serhou Guirassy dropping deep to link play and Maximilian Beier or Silva running in behind.
Substitutes could have a bigger role after the break. Kovac has recently made changes to his attacking midfield and central midfield around the 60-minute mark, with Silva and Konstantinos Karetsas among the substitutes to contribute goals. Dortmund have scored 11 of their 12 goals in their last five matches after the 50th minute. FK Bodø/Glimt held Bayern Munich to 0-0 at half-time away from home before conceding five after the break, and Knutsen also highlighted their second-half drop-off after the Kristiansund match. The Bayern game was away, so it does not suggest we should expect the same number of goals conceded here. Still, if this remains close beyond the hour, Dortmund's attacking options off the bench could be a key factor.
Neither side can feel entirely comfortable defending set pieces. Aleesami scored with a header from a corner in the previous meeting. Dortmund have conceded three goals from set pieces and the phases immediately after them this season, and also gave up a stoppage-time free-kick header against Werder Bremen last time out. FK Bodø/Glimt conceded from a free-kick header and a second phase after a corner against Bayern Munich. Schlotterbeck's absence alone does not mean Dortmund will concede more from set pieces. He was on the pitch when they conceded against Bremen. Still, set-piece defending late in the game could directly affect either side's ability to hold a lead.
3. Prediction and conclusion
Our score prediction is FK Bodø/Glimt 2-2 Dortmund. We expect the home side to score first in the opening half from a wide attack or set piece, then Dortmund to use their attacking substitutes after 60 minutes to equalise and take the lead. FK Bodø/Glimt could find another goal from a late set piece. This forecast does not simply repeat the previous meeting's scoreline. It reflects the current squads and how both teams have defended after taking the lead.
FK Bodø/Glimt managed Helmersen's minutes ahead of a home match they enter on zero points, and Blomberg and Hauge can target the left side of a Dortmund defence without Schlotterbeck. Dortmund can press the central defence missing Bjortuft, while Kovac's attacking changes after the break could test the second-half drop-off Knutsen has identified in his side. If Dortmund go ahead, though, they will still have to deal with FK Bodø/Glimt's set pieces late on. The market favours the visitors on the strength of their league position and unbeaten run in competitive matches, but we rate their chances of turning that edge into a win below the market's view, given their recent late concessions after taking the lead and the home side's route back into the game.
This forecast changes if Dortmund take the lead in the second half and then use defensive substitutions to keep FK Bodø/Glimt's late set pieces at bay. If Kovac's side reach half-time without conceding and manage that game plan well, they can protect a lead created by their attacking substitutes and win away.
