Europe Europe League - Round 4

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Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Sturm Graz:
Bignetti; Oermann, Aiwu, Lavalee, Karic; Stankovic; Horvat, Rozga; Kiteishvili; Malone, Jatta

Nottingham Forest:
Sels; Savona, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Anderson, Sangare; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus

Sturm Graz will welcome the Premier League side Nottingham Forest to the Merkur Arena on Thursday night.. The Austrians have three points after the opening three rounds of Europe League. They started the campaign with a 2:0 defeat at Mitdjylland, then obtained a 2:1 home win over Glasgow Rangers before losing 2:1 to Celtic. Sturm currently sit 27th in the 36-team table, but only one point behind Nottingham Forest. Coach Jurgen Saumel is optimist and he believe Sturm could qualify for the Europa League knockout phase for the very first time. His biggest problem is the inconsistency, both in Europe and domestically. In addition, Saumel has some injury and suspension issues ahead of this match. Max Johnston and Belmin Beganovic are sidelined with hamstring and ankle injury respectively, while Tochi Chukwuani is suspended after he was sent off against Celtic. Alexandar Borkovic is ineligible to play after being left out of the club’s Europa League squad.

2025 is the year that all Nottingham fans will remember. The first half was positive, the Tricky Trees were fighting for a Champions League spot. One man stayed behind the successes, their manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Out of nowhere, he transformed the relegation candidates into top-of-the-table side. But there was another man that wanted part of the attention and part of the glory, owner Evangelos Marinakis. He did something unexpected in the finish of the season, he stormed onto the pitch after a 2:2 draw with already-relegated Leicester to confront manager Nuno over some of his decision. The start of the new season brought new problems in communication between the owner and manager. As a result, Nuno was sacked in September. His successor, Ange Postecoglou, failed to improve the things and failed to record a single victory in his opening eight games. At the end he was replaced by Sean Dyche. During the weekend Forest played a 2:2 draw with Manchester United. Dyche has lot of issues ahead of this match. Douglas Luiz is the latest victim. He suffered a hamstring injury against Man United and he looks set to join Ola Aina, Dilane Bakwa, Chris Wood and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the treatment room. Finally, Taiwo Awoniyi, Omari Hutchinson, Jair Cunha and Angus Gunn are ineligible to play as they have all been left out of the club’s Europa League squad.

Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest Prediction:

I think Sturm Graz are closer to the victory. Historically, they are not too successful against Premier League teams. So far they have played eight times and suffered six defeats. The Austrians have one victory, beating Arsenal 1:0 on home soil in the first leg of a second-round tie in the 1970-71 Fairs Cup. And this is an ideal opportunity for the second victory. I think Sean Dyche will rest his key players as his focus is on Sunday's clash with Leeds. Key striker Wood is out injured and that's a big handicap. Maybe I am wrong, but I think Dyche will prioritize the Premier League. On the other side Saumel will go with strong eleven, led by club top scorer Otar Kiteishvili, who has eight goals to his name across all competitions. I expect Sturm to remain unbeaten in Graz. At least.

Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest Pick: Sturm Graz +0.5 AH @ 2.24 with Pinnacle