Lazio vs Bodo/Glimt

Serie A giants Lazio have a mountain to climb to progress from their Europa League quarter-final tie against Bodo/Glimt ahead of the return fixture at the Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio’s quest to secure their first European quarter-final appearance in seven years is in tatters following a dismal 2-0 defeat in Norway last weekend. Despite finishing at the top of the league-phase table, Marco Baroni’s men face an unexpected elimination unless they defy history and overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit in UEFA competition for the first time. That could prove easier said than done, with ‘I Biancocelesti’ exiting European competitions in 12 of their last 15 ties when losing the first leg. Furthermore, a 1-1 draw against Roma in the latest edition of the famous Derby della Capitale condemned out-of-form Lazio to their sixth winless competitive outing in their last seven (D4, L2). On the bright side, they’ve avoided defeat in their previous 13 Europa League home fixtures (W7, D6).

In the meantime, Bodo/Glimt’s impressive first-leg victory marked their fourth consecutive win ‘to nil,’ suggesting Lazio may find it difficult to breach the Norwegians’ sturdy backline. Buoyed by this superb run, Kjetil Knutsen’s men will take the field in high spirits, looking to become the first Norwegian outfit to reach the UEFA semi-finals. Further confidence comes from Bodo’s promising run of seven wins from their last nine two-legged ties in European football. However, there’s a note of caution, as the visitors have suffered three defeats across their four most recent away matches in the Europa League (D1). As if that’s not worrying enough, Bodo’s dismal track record in Italy spells further trouble, with the visitors going winless on all six previous visits (D1, L5).