Can Brann Bergen pull off the miracle?
On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, the second leg of the Champions League qualifying round will take place between Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) and SK Brann (Norway). The roles seem to be clearly defined in advance, as the visitors have little realistic chance of reaching the next round after losing the first leg 1-4. Even with a three-goal victory, the Norwegian representative would only be able to force extra time. The Norwegians therefore face an almost impossible task. It is therefore no surprise that the Red Bull Salzburg vs. Brann Bergen odds from German bookmakers are clearly against an away win. For a win for the away team, we currently get maximum odds of 6.50 – available at Betano.
However, soccer is a crazy sport and miracles are part of everyday life. Just recently, Helsinki came back from a 0-4 deficit in the first leg, equalized 4-4 in the second leg, and secured their ticket to the next round in extra time. In our Red Bull Salzburg vs. Brann Bergen prediction, we will now take a look at whether the Norwegian representative is capable of a similar football miracle. However, based on their mixed record away from home, this is not likely at first glance. Freyr Alexandersson’s team has won only three of seven league games on the road and even has a negative goal difference of -3.
Red Bull Salzburg – Statistics & current form
Salzburg will not have been particularly satisfied with the past season. Thomas Letsch’s team not only failed to defend their national title, but also exited the cup at an early stage. In addition, the Austrians went down without a fight in the Champions League, picking up only three points from eight games. Salzburg scored only five goals and conceded 27. That is certainly not what the club expects of itself. We therefore expect the Red Bulls to respond in the coming season, as their goals remain extremely high despite the weak preseason. The first interim goal is simply to reach the third round of the Champions League qualifiers.
Red Bull Salzburg showed hunger
With eight goals in the first two competitive games (⌀ 4.00) of the new season, Thomas Letsch’s team showed a very attacking spirit and looked to push forward throughout the game. Petar Ratkow and Nene Dorgeles were the most prominent offensive players, each scoring two goals. In addition, Salzburg have four more high-quality attackers in their ranks in Vertessen, Bidstrup, Kjaergaard and Onisiwo. We can therefore be sure that the Red Bulls will pose plenty of goal threat in the second leg and are very unlikely to fail to score themselves. That sounds promising.
Red Bull Salzburg’s defense has room for improvement
There is little to fault Thomas Letsch’s team in terms of offense. Salzburg scored 82 goals in 51 games last season (⌀ 1.61) and rarely failed to find the back of the net. Defensively, things went significantly worse, with the home side conceding an average of 1.45 goals per game. We therefore consider a clean sheet against SK Brann to be rather unlikely. The Norwegian representative needs a miracle and must therefore take significantly more risks than in the first leg. We therefore expect a courageous performance and one or two big chances for the away team. In addition, Salzburg failed to keep a clean sheet in the first leg.
Predicted line-up:
Schlager – Lainer, Gadou, Rasmussen, Krätzig – Dorgeles, Bidstrup, Diambou, Gloukh – Daghim, Baidoo
Brann Bergen – Statistics & current form
Brann is in the middle of the season and has picked up 30 points from its first 16 league games. This puts Freyr Alexandersson’s team in fifth place in the Norwegian top flight, meaning they are once again among the top teams. Although they are nine points behind the league leaders, Bergen still have two games in hand. The reigning runners-up are therefore still in contention for the championship this season. However, the Norwegians are not yet able to compete at international level and have regularly failed to qualify in recent years. After a 1-4 defeat in the first leg, this does not look set to change this year.
Brann Bergen can cause problems
With 37 goals in 20 competitive games, the visitors are averaging 1.85 goals per game and are even more effective than Red Bull Salzburg on paper. Nevertheless, Alexandersson’s team has failed to score five times and has found the back of the net in “only” 75% of its games. Away from home, the rate is even worse at 70%. For us, this means that Brann Bergen is capable of landing pinpricks, but certainly cannot come back from a three-goal deficit. The Norwegian side lacks the necessary quality to do so. However, we do believe the team is capable of scoring a consolation goal.
Brann Bergen lacks the necessary stability
Even if the visitors are able to create chances and perhaps even score goals, Freyr Alexandersson’s team lacks the stability needed to prevent Salzburg from scoring. The visitors have conceded 30 goals in 20 games this season, an average of 1.5 goals per game. In addition, the Norwegians have only kept a clean sheet five times, conceding at least one goal in 75% of their games. A goal from Red Bull Salzburg is therefore almost a foregone conclusion, making it extremely difficult to catch up. That is also the reason why we do not believe in a miracle.
Predicted line-up:
Dyngeland – Pedersen, Helland, Larsen, Soltvedt – Kornvig, Sörensen, Myhre – Mathisen, Magnusson, Gudmundsson
Red Bull Salzburg – Brann Bergen Head-to-head record
In the first two paragraphs of our analysis, everything points to a home win. Salzburg is individually superior (€154.50 million vs. €29.40 million), has won its last four competitive games and also dominated the first leg at will. The H2H comparison does not change this, as the 4-1 win in the first leg was the only meeting between these two clubs so far. It is therefore no surprise that the Red Bull Salzburg vs. Brann Bergen betting odds clearly favor a home win and that the match is as good as decided.
Red Bull Salzburg – Brann Bergen Tip
Taking all of the above into account, we have decided on a Red Bull Salzburg vs. Brann Bergen betting tip for a home win with over 1.5 goals. The home side already rotated their squad in the first leg and left some key players on the bench. In the end, however, Salzburg still won comfortably. We expect a similar game in their own stadium. At the latest after the hosts score the first goal, the visitors’ belief in a miracle will evaporate. And then quality will prevail.
Alternatively, you can add the Red Bull Salzburg vs. Brann Bergen odds for “both teams to score – yes” to your betting slip. Salzburg are clearly superior, but they have repeatedly struggled in defense and were unable to really strengthen that area during the summer break. In addition, the Norwegian side certainly have the quality to create chances. That was already the case in the first leg, and now the visitors will have to take even more risks.
