Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Caution for Karic

Sturm Graz host Nottingham Forest at Merkur-Arena on Thursday (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 1) in the league phase of the 2025/26 Uefa Europa League. Heading into the fourth round of fixtures, the Austrian outfit are 27th in the 36-team table, having picked up four points, while the English side are 10 places, but only one point, better off.

Below are my Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Max Johnston (hamstring) and Belmin Beganovi (ankle) are out injured for Sturm Graz, who are also missing Tochi Chukwuani as the midfielder is serving a suspension for the red card he received in their last European match, a 2-1 defeat to Celtic in Glasgow on October 23.

Football Odds

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, are likely to be without Ola Aina, Douglas Luiz (both hamstring), Dilane Bakwa (unspecified), Chris Wood (knee) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (groin), while Igor Jesus, who has scored three of Forest's five Europa League goals this season, is banned after picking up a yellow in all three of their games.

Callum Hudson-Odoi (dead leg) is also doubtful.

Sturm Graz vs Nottingham Forest Odds

Despite enjoying home advantage and beating Rangers 2-1 in their only league phase game at Merkur-Arena, Sturm Graz (4/1) are big underdogs on Thursday, with their odds implying only a 20% chance of success. Nottingham Forest (7/10)'s chances, meanwhile, are rated at 58.8%, with the draw (3/1) at 25%.

Betfred are offering a couple of Price Boosts for this fixture, including Nottm Forest to Win, Morgan Gibbs-White to Score & Both Teams to Score at 6/1 (was 5/1).

Player to Receive a Card - Emir Karic (STG) @ 12/5

Sturm Graz left-back Emir Karic has been booked four times this season, including once in the Europa League, in their only home game so far against Rangers.

The 28-year-old has committed one foul in each of his three league phase appearances, and in the Austrian Bundesliga, where he has received three yellows this term, he is averaging 1.1 fouls per game.

Today's Football Fixtures

On Thursday, the Bosnian could be up against Forest winger Dan Ndoye, who was fouled three times in his side's 2-0 victory over FC Porto on October 23.

The 25-year-old, who won, on average, 3.4 and 2.6 fouls per game in last season's Serie A and Uefa Champions League, respectively, is a tricky customer for full-backs to deal with, and Karic could be forced to take drastic action to deal with the Switzerland international.

Anytime Goalscorer - Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO) @ 21/10

With Wood, Igor Jesus, and, potentially, Hudson-Odoi all out of the side on Thursday, much of the goalscoring burden will fall on the shoulders of Gibbs-White, who has scored half (two) of their four goals under Sean Dyche, who took charge following a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea on October 18.

The 25-year-old opened the scoring in the 2-0 victory over Porto last time out in the Europa League and he was also first on the scoresheet for Forest in their 2-2 draw with Manchester United last Saturday, netting a 48th-minute equaliser after Casemiro had put the Red Devils in the lead in the 34th minute.

Gibbs-White, who scored seven goals last season, is always a threat in open play, while he appears, certainly with Wood sidelined, to be Forest's designated penalty-taker, having notched from 12 yards against Porto before handing over duties later in the game to Igor Jesus.

Arnaud Kalimuendo (6/4), set to make his first Forest start, is an obvious option in this market, having scored 18 goals for Rennes last season, but low on confidence and minutes, and at a shorter price than Gibbs-White, I'm staying away from the Frenchman here.

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