Viking FK could be without three of their back five when they face Aberdeen in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Norwegians sold full back Adrien Nilsen Pereira to PAOK and boss Bjarne Berntsen’s plans for the visit of the Dons have been further disrupted following injuries to goalkeeper Arild Ostbo and central defender Henrik Heggheim.
Both Ostbo and Heggheim suffered injuries in Saturday’s 5-3 win against Kristiansund and neither are expected to feature against Derek McInnes’ side on Thursday.
Former Wales under-21 international John Crowe came off the bench to make his debut for the club following Ostbo’s injury at the weekend and the former Preston North-End goalkeeper is in line to make his first start for the club against the Dons on Thursday.
There will be no fans at SR-Bank Arena on Thursday but Berntsen hopes to make home advantage count against Aberdeen.
He said: “We are glad to be at home but we have to make that count because in nearly every league the advantage is lower than is used to be.
“I think that is mainly down to the support you have from the fans not being there.
“They lift the team when they are there, being noisy adds an edge to the team and gives the players that extra boost.
“We were very happy to get a home draw because we didn’t want to go to Pittodrie, but we have to make it work to our advantage.”
The two clubs have faced each other three times in the last decade in friendly matches and Berntsen is disappointed supporters will not be able to enjoy a competitive match between the sides this week.
He said: “There will be a lot of interest in another Norway v Scotland game so it is a disappointing that no fans will be there.
“There are links between Aberdeen and Stavanger because of the oil so I think there are a lot of people from Scotland come here to work.
“It is good the competition is on because for a while we did worry European football wouldn’t take place this season.
“But football without supporters is not the same and I am sure Aberdeen would have expected to bring a lot of fans to the game if they were allowed.
“That is just where we are at the moment but it’s disappointing.”
