Napoli v Bodø/Glimt tonight: why southern Italy is a different game from Aspmyra

UEFA labels its times “CET”, but Norway and Italy both stay on summer time until the early hours of Sunday 25 October, as we explained in our piece on when the clocks go back. The two countries share a time zone, so it is 21:00 in Bodø as well as in Naples.

How does the league phase table look?

Glimt lost 5–0 at Bayern Munich on 10 September, then beat Borussia Dortmund 1–0 at Aspmyra on 14 October. Napoli lost 1–0 at home to Arsenal and 3–1 at Villarreal.

The league phase runs until Wednesday 27 January 2027 – and Napoli finish it against another Norwegian club, hosting Viking in the final round, according to the same UEFA list.

Why is an away game in southern Italy harder than Aspmyra?

Home advantage is the tendency of teams to collect more points on their own ground. Pitch, climate, travel and crowd all favour Glimt at home – and work against them away.

Does artificial turf give Bodø/Glimt a home advantage?

Aspmyra has had an artificial pitch since 2006; the Maradona has natural grass. In a 2015 study in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, Lars Magnus Hvattum found that Norwegian teams that switched from grass to artificial turf achieved better results on average, and that this could be explained “at least in part” by a stronger home advantage.

Jan C. van Ours found the same pattern in the Dutch top flight from 2014/15 to 2017/18 (De Economist, February 2019). Both measure league-wide averages, not Glimt, but suggest artificial turf can confer an edge – one that stays in Bodø when the team travels.

The crowd and the referee

According to the University of Leeds (13 August 2021), Dane McCarrick and colleagues analysed 4,844 matches across 15 leagues in 11 countries, Serie A among them. With fans present, home teams averaged 0.39 more points per game than away teams. Behind closed doors, the gap shrank to 0.22.

Away sides also received far fewer yellow cards in empty stadiums. “This new knowledge reveals that in the most basic sense, fans attendance matters,” McCarrick said. We previously covered Norway’s World Cup quarter-final against England in Miami.

What is the temperature difference between Bodø and Naples?

According to MET Norway’s Locationforecast service (forecast retrieved 18 October 2026), Naples should be 20.1°C at 20:00 on Tuesday, an hour before kick-off. Bodø is forecast at 6.4°C. That is a gap of about 14 degrees – a forecast for one evening, not an October climate average.

Is 20°C hot for football?

No. In a PLoS One study (June 2012), Mohr and colleagues had 17 players play one match at around 21°C and another at around 43°C. The 21°C game was the “temperate” control. Only in the heat did total distance drop by 7 per cent and running above 14 km/h by 26 per cent.

So the contrast for Glimt is not heat stress but players used to colder air at home.

Will Glimt suffer from jet lag in Italy?

No. Bodø and Naples both lie at roughly 14 degrees east, so the trip of about 2,940 km runs almost due south with no time difference. A consensus statement by 26 researchers and clinicians (Sports Medicine, July 2021) reserves jet lag for travel across three or more time zones.

Travel fatigue is different: “exhaustion and tiredness associated with any long journey”, whatever the mode, direction or time zones. Signs include persistent fatigue, recurrent illness and loss of motivation, though the panel admits the evidence is thin.

Are six days enough rest between Dortmund and Napoli?

Six days separate Dortmund (14 October) and Napoli (20 October). A study of 32 players at one Champions League club (Dupont, Wisløff and colleagues, American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010) found that 72–96 hours of recovery kept physical performance steady with two matches a week. Injury rates, however, were 25.6 versus 4.1 per 1,000 hours of exposure.

Six days is 144 hours, well beyond that window. The study covers a single club, but the authors recommend squad rotation in congested spells.

What comes next for Glimt?

After Naples, Glimt have 14 days until their next Champions League match: Lille at Aspmyra on Tuesday 3 November. Then come LASK at home (24 November, 18:45), Lens away (9 December), Atlético de Madrid at home (19 January 2027, 18:45) and Club Brugge away (27 January 2027). More in our sports section.

Frequently asked questions

When do Bodø/Glimt play Napoli?

On Tuesday 20 October 2026 at 21:00 Norwegian time, at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, on matchday three of the league phase.

Does artificial turf give Bodø/Glimt a home advantage?

Studies from Norway (2015) and the Netherlands (2019) show that teams with artificial home pitches enjoy an extra home advantage on average. They measure league averages, not Glimt specifically.

What is the temperature difference between Bodø and Naples in October?

MET Norway’s forecast for the evening of 20 October shows about 20°C in Naples and 6°C in Bodø, a gap of roughly 14 degrees. That is a forecast, not a monthly average.

Will the players get jet lag travelling to Naples?

No – Norway and Italy share a time zone. Jet lag requires crossing three or more time zones, though a long journey can still cause travel fatigue.

When is Glimt’s next Champions League match?

Glimt host Lille at Aspmyra on Tuesday 3 November 2026.