Brann vs Bologna Prediction: Count on corners again

For the second time this season, Brann and Bologna meet in the Uefa Europa League. The two sides played out a goalless draw in Italy during the league phase last November before being drawn together in the knockout phase play-offs this month.

The first leg takes place at Brann Stadion in Bergen on Thursday (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 5), and you can build up to the action by checking out my Brann vs Bologna predictions below.

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Team News

Saevar Atli Magnusson, Sakarias Opsahl, Eggert Aron Gudmundsson, Jonas Torsvik, Niklas Jensen Wassberg and Niklas Castro (all unspecified) are unavailable for Feyr Alexandersson’s Brann.

Football Odds

As for Vincenzo Italiano’s Bologna, Charalampos Lykogiannis - who was sent off in the league-phase game against Brann - has a groin injury, so he misses out on the trip to Norway.

Brann vs Bologna Odds

Brann are 7/2, or a 22.2% chance, to assume a first-leg lead, while Bologna are 5/6 to triumph in Norway, implying a 54.5% probability of success, with another stalemate between the two sides offered at 12/5.

Player Assists A Goal - Joachim Soltvedt (SBK) Yes @ 6/1

I had success in this market on Tuesday as Galatasaray's Baris Yilmaz provided an assist in their 5-2 Uefa Champions League thrashing of Juventus at 7/1, so I'm going back to the well here.

Brann left-back Joachim Soltvedt has been in outrageous attacking form this season, scoring four times and registering 12 assists in 31 appearances across the Eliteserien and Europa League.

Today's Football Fixtures

A quarter (three) of the Norwegian's assists have come in seven UEL outings, including one for Emil Kornvig in a 1-1 draw at  PAOK on November 27, when he was introduced in the 87th minute and took less than 120 seconds to provide his teammate's equaliser.

Corner Over/Under - Over 10.5 @ 11/8

Five of Brann's eight league-phase matches produced 11 or more corners, and it was the same statistic for Bologna, whose final two, against Celtic and Maccabi Tel Aviv, saw 18 and 14, respectively, awarded.

November's meeting between the two teams finished with 14 corners taken, 11 in the direction of Bologna, and three for Brann.

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