Bodo/Glimt and Ajax meet in the second leg of their Europa Conference League last-32 tie on Thursday night with everything very much in the balance.
In the reverse fixture last week, Ajax somehow salvaged a 2-2 draw, giving them the momentum ahead of their trip to Norway.
When Ajax returned after the winter break to record three successive wins, the expectation had been that they would kick on from continuing on an upward trajectory under John van’t Schip.
Although they deserve credit for a 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven, Ajax are now on a four-game winless streak, failing to defeat either of Heerenveen or NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie.
As a result, Ajax now sit a significant eight points adrift of third place, and face a battle on their hands to earn a spot in next season’s Europa League.
Winning this competition may be their best bet on this front, yet they are only level in this tie courtesy of two goals being scored in added-on time in the first leg at home.
Remarkably, it extended the run of Ajax scoring and conceding in consecutive games to 14, and no-one will bet against that continuing on Thursday night.
In usual circumstances, Bodo/Glimt may have been delighted with a 2-2 draw away at Ajax, yet they will be wondering how they let slip such a commanding advantage in Amsterdam.
Fitness played its part – it was Molde’s first competitive game since December – but the Norwegian champions cannot use that as an excuse having reached 90 minutes with a clean sheet intact.
On the plus side, Kjetil Knutsen‘s side now have that competitive game under their belts and a week of recovery ahead of one of the biggest European fixtures in their history.
While they reached the quarter-finals of this competition in 2021-22, that remains their best effort on the continent, and taking the scalp of Ajax would put them well on their way to at least replicating that feat.
