FK Bodø/Glimt vs Olympiakos: Europa League Round of 16 preview

FK Bodø/Glimt vs Olympiakos: 

Europa League Round of 16 preview

By Stephen Kountourou

UEFA Europa League Round of 16: 06/03/25

Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time

Venue: Aspmyra Stadion, Norway

Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 3 HD

The end is nigh, for the 2024/25 season at least. Teams are starting to get to the business end of their campaigns, whether that be domestically or on the European stage, but with still so much left to play for. Truer words have never been spoken of Olympiakos and where they find themselves currently. 

Thrylos, under Jose Luis Mendilibar, are on a roll. In all competitions, they are currently 26 games unbeaten, five points clear at the top of the Greek Super League table with one game of the regular season left to play. 

In the Greek Cup, the Piraeus side has one foot into the final, after defeating AEK 6-0 in the first leg of the last four and in the UEFA Europa League this season, where they have qualified for the round of 16 automatically, they will be hoping for a similar run to that of last season which took them to the Conference League trophy. 

With all that being said and to reiterate what was said before, there is still work to be done on all fronts. The last big test now before the international break is of course in the UEFA’s secondary competition against Norwegian side champions Bodø/Glimt. Despite dodging Fenerbahce in the round of 16 draws, the Yellow Horde, as they are known, are no pushovers. 

As well as Olympiakos looking to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time in the club's 100-year history, the tie is hugely important for Greece’s coefficient ranking. 

Norway, in 12th, are only narrowly behind Greece, in 11th, and knocking out Bodø/Glimt, Norway’s last representative in European competition, would almost certainly secure Greece’s place just outside the top ten and guaranteeing the league more and better European places for the season after next.

Last time in the UEL

It certainly feels like a long time ago now but Olympiakos qualified for the Europa League round of 16 automatically thanks to 3-0 drubbing of Qarabag in Karaiskaki, with other results also going in their favour, for Thrylos to slip into 7th place. A very fitting place to finish in the League Phase. 

The Conference League holders also needed to score at least two goals to help with their goal difference and they did just that. After a goalless first half, the floodgates opened just before the hour mark. Ayoub El Kaabi, the top scorer of the competition at the time of writing, netted a brace in four minutes to put the home side firmly in the driving seat and well on their way to a top-eight finish. 

A third from Giulian Biancone late on was the icing on the cake, of a match where not only did Olympiakos get their revenge over a side that had embarrassed them at home previously, but showed after eight matches in the new European format that they are still a force to be reckoned with and winning the Conference League last season was not a flash in the pan moment. 

Bodø/Glimt meanwhile, where one of the teams that Olympiakos pipped to automatic qualification to the round of 16, at the Norwegian side's expense. This meant that Glimt had to settle for a place in the playoff as a seeded team where they drew Dutch side FC Twente.

After a narrow 2-1 defeat in the Netherlands, Kjetil Knutsen men came roaring back in the return leg in Bodo winning 5-2 in extra time, turning the tie on its head and going through to the next round 6-4 on aggregate.

Previous encounters

Having only recently started to consistently qualify for European competitions in the last five years, Bodø/Glimt have never previously played a Greek side before.

By contrast, Olympiakos has, albeit fleetingly, played Norwegian teams before although their record is not the best. In six matches, two against Rosenburg and four against Molde, Thrylos have only won once, drawn twice and lost three times. The only win came against Molde at home which means the Piraeus side has never beaten a Norwegian team on the road.

I had the pleasure of hearing the thoughts of football writer and broadcaster Lars Sivertsen on this game.

What is the perception of Olympiakos and this game from the media in Norway?

“Checking the Norwegian papers today, there is actually less focus on this game than one might expect. I think one possible explanation is that we just had a contentious general assembly of all the football clubs and, among other things, it was decided that we were going to continue to have VAR - in spite of a lot of fans and a majority of the elite clubs wanting to get rid of it. This has been taking up a lot of the focus and attention in the Norwegian sports reporting recently. 

Bodø/Glimt being in the knockout rounds of the Europa League is a big deal of course, but there isn't a huge amount on the sports sites right now. I would assume the reporting will ramp up on the day of the game, of course. I think it's also possible that people have almost gotten used to Bodø/Glimt still being in Europe after New Years Eve, and that it doesn't have the kind of novelty value that it had a few years ago. 

Now, as with regards to Olympiakos, I think the general perception is that they are a very scary home team - that the trip to Greece will be a very difficult one. But also that their record away from home in Europe is not so strong, so there will be cautious optimism that Bodø/Glimt can get something done at home in the first leg at least.”

How do you feel the effects of not playing competitive football since November other than Europa League fixtures will impact Bodø/Glimt going into this game? 

“Well, this is a double-edged sword. We have an advantage in that the European qualifying rounds, at the start of the European season, come in the middle of our season. So teams should in theory be better prepared for those qualifiers and that should help us get into European group stages. 

But of course, when teams do manage to qualify for the knockouts, they are at a disadvantage. There are some who want to flip the calendar to follow the more normal European football calendar, but the Norwegian winter makes that basically impossible.“

Who are the key players Olympiakos need to watch out for?

“So, central midfielder Patrick Berg - whose father and grandfather both played for B/G as well - is the heartbeat of the team. He is an effective ball-winner in midfield who can also pass the ball reasonably well. And last season he actually scored 9 goals in the league as well. He is very important to how they play, in terms of moving the ball around, but I wouldn't say that he is a passer of top European standard, so if Olympiakos can make sure he gets closed down and make it difficult for him, that would be very helpful to your chances. 

Danish striker Kasper Høgh was their top scorer last season and is their most likely source of goals, but I think the player to really look out for is Jens Petter Hauge. He's a technical winger who can be inconsistent, but he is the attacking player who at his best is really of good European quality. 

He moved to Milan when he was younger and spent time at Frankfurt, and there were always little bursts of him looking really good but he didn't quite make it and has returned to Norway now. If he is having a good day, he can really cause trouble. You might want your right back to put in a couple of tough tackles early there…”

With the rise of Norwegian clubs in European competition and the improvement of the nation's UEFA coefficient place in recent years, do you think this is short-term or only the beginning for Norwegian football?

“Well, talent development in Norway seems to be in a pretty good place, with a number of good young players coming through. I am a little bit uncertain of how many clubs we have that are capable of building a club that can compete in Europe. 

B/G are a pretty unique case in a lot of way. Bodø is a small place, they've built and incredible culture there and they have some money now because of their success in Europe. But looking around the league, most clubs are unable to pay salaries that make them competitive internationally. 

Even clubs in the Danish league pay salaries that are almost twice as big, so you will always have players looking to move abroad - soon - from most Norwegian clubs. I can see Norwegian clubs doing reasonably well in the Europa Conference league - and with a lucky draw perhaps B/G can finally make the Champions League group stages later this year. 

But while the economy of domestic Norwegian football is as weak as it is, I am not expecting a kind of golden age of Norwegian clubs in Europe to happen soon (Molde almost got knocked out by a team from Ireland). 

I would keep an eye out for the Danes though, over the next 5-10 years I think we will see much more from Danish clubs in Europe than from Norwegian and Swedish clubs.”

Missing pieces of the puzzle but more than enough mentality

Olympiakos is not going to this game physically at full strength. Ayoub El Kaabi, the top scorer for Thrylos in all competitions, and in the Europa League top scorer will be absent for the first leg, after picking up an injury in the Greek Cup game with AEK. A huge miss for Jose Luis Mendilibar. 

Andre Horta and Dani Garcia will also be out for this fixture. Chiqunho and Panagiotis Retsos, despite returning from injury to the squad travelling to Norway, and with the former scoring the vital winner against AEK in the league on Sunday, are not a guarantee to start on Thursday. 

All of these missing elements make Mendilibar's job all the more difficult when facing a side that was free-scoring in the Europa League League Phase and put five goals past FC Twente, a team Olympiakos were unable to score against.

As we know all too well, however, the Basque coach is a miracle worker in Europe with the Conference League winners. The team, even without key players in the last couple of weeks, have shown a strong mental fortitude to persist and get the results, which is why they find themselves in a strong position in all competitions with the business end of the season around the corner after the international break. 

With OFI the only team left to play on the weekend of the club's 100th anniversary celebrations and playoff matches pushed back at the request of Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic, Olympiakos can focus on getting the first Europa League quarterfinals in their history.  

@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football