Start take on the visitors Bodo/Glimt in the round 8 match of Norwegian Eliteserien. The match will be played on Wednesday, May 20th at Sparebanken Sør Arena (Kristiansand)
Start have failed to surprise anyone. The White-and-Blues are not particularly highly rated. But they at least marked their 120th anniversary by winning Norway’s second tier in 2025 after spending five consecutive seasons at that level. Still, from the outset, this team was never viewed in the Eliteserien as anything more than a survival candidate. Even that objective is proving difficult so far. More than that, they simply could not manage to pick up even their first win during the opening stretch of the campaign. At best, they were clinging to draws, but ultimately settled near the bottom of the table alongside the other strugglers. Start have looked overwhelmed by the pace and quality of top-flight opposition, especially when matches open up early against them. Their defensive structure has repeatedly collapsed under pressure, making it difficult to imagine a quick turnaround without a major shift in momentum. In the latest round, nothing was expected against Viking, and that is exactly how it played out — they ended up on the wrong side of a “tennis score,” losing 3-6.
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Bodo/Glimt have made enormous strides in recent years — does everyone remember that their very first league title only came in 2020? Since then, the club has lifted the championship trophy three more times. They also began achieving their biggest successes on the international stage. Last year, the Scandinavians reached the Europa League semi-finals. In the following campaign, they qualified for the Champions League’s league phase and then, thanks to January wins during their own off-season, progressed into the knockout rounds. There, they sensationally eliminated Inter with two victories and even crushed Sporting Lisbon… only to then suffer a 0-5 defeat in Portugal, albeit after extra time. Their demanding schedule across multiple fronts appears to have taken a toll, particularly domestically, where the usual consistency has been harder to maintain. Still, recent attacking performances suggest this side remains more than capable of overwhelming weaker opponents when their rhythm clicks. Those European exploits came at a price domestically: in the autumn, they lost the title race to Viking by a single point, and the new season also began below their usual standards. Just when it seemed they had rediscovered their rhythm in mid-spring with a string of wins, they lost at home to Molde. Still, they responded by smashing five unanswered goals past Tromso.
In the head-to-head meetings, there have been two wins for the Yellow-and-Blacks in the last three encounters, including a 5-0 victory just last month, alongside one draw. The visitors do have their issues, but if not against an opponent like this, then against whom? We’re backing the visitors with a -1.5 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Bodo/Glimt to win with -1.5 handicap.
