Brann (home)
- Brann, who finished 4th in Norway’s Eliteserien last season, are bidding for their deepest European run since their appearance at the group stage in 2007-08.
- Brann have won 0, drawn 2 and lost 3 of their last 5 competitive matches, including a 0-1 Europa League defeat at Sturm Graz and a 4-0 home loss to Fenerbahçe.
- Brann are a much more direct side and play with a high-energy 4-3-3 system that is good at compacting the midfield and attacking quickly from front to back.
- Brann’s home-field advantage and defensive grit could keep things close and make them a dangerous underdog in the tie.
Bologna (away)
- Bologna will want to re-establish themselves on the continental stage.
- Bologna’s squad quality and Serie A experience suggests they should have the edge against the outsiders from Bergen.
- Bologna’s recent results have also been patchy, but a 3-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Europa League was interspersed between a pair of domestic defeats, the 3-0 loss at AC Milan and the 1-0 loss to Parma.
- Bologna are a vertical possession team, playing a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 that is built around pressing opponents and maintaining a flow of the ball.
Head-to-Head
Brann and Bologna have faced each other once before, drawing 0-0 at Bologna in the UEFA Europa League group stage in 2025 .
Key Players
- Bologna have a clear attacking weapon in Riccardo Orsolini, who has seven Serie A goals and around 10 across all competitions to lead the club’s scoring charts.
- The pace of Orsolini, who can cut inside or come off the flanks, will be crucial to whether Bologna can get at the Brann back line, which was solid in the goalless group-stage draw with the Serie A club.
- But Brann have Emil Kornvig, whose box-to-box play was the difference in the 3-3 draw with Midtjylland in the previous round of the Europa League.
- Noah Holm is another young talent who can get on the ball quickly and has the pace to get at Bologna on the counter.
- Brann’s young centre-back Eivind Helland has just moved to the Rossoblu and is an interesting subplot to the tie.
- Bologna have the quality up top to hurt Brann, although Santiago Castro and Jens Odgaard can step up when Orsolini is well-marked in European matches.
- In goal, Mathias Dyngeland was Brann’s hero in the 0-0 draw with Bologna in 2025 and his ability to save shots under pressure is key to this tie.
Betting Insights
- Bologna are as short as 1.84 to win the match, with Brann coming in at 4.2 and the draw at 3.3.
- The Under 2.5 goals at 1.83 looks a good bet given neither side’s tendency to score a lot of goals or concede many recently.
Prediction
- Bologna’s Serie A class may tell and we’re siding with them to edge this through to the second round.
- Brann should keep this close at home, though, making them a dangerous underdog rather than a straightforward outsider.
