Bournemouth v Sturm Graz: Europa League preview, predicted line-ups & team news

There is no knockout drama just yet, but the Europa League's new league stage rewards a fast start, and matchday two is where a decent opening can become a proper platform.

Bournemouth and Sturm Graz both have a single game behind them, one with three points and the other with one, so this is the first real chance for either to build.

The Cherries host the Austrian side at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night, and the bookmakers have made their view very plain.

Whether the visitors read the same script is another matter.

Bournemouth began with a win on the road. They beat Real Sociedad 2-1 away, scoring twice inside the first half hour before conceding in the second half, which is a tidy way to open a European campaign.

That result sits at the top of a very short Europa League record, but it does mean they arrive with some momentum.

Sturm Graz took a point at home to Rennes. The match finished 0-0, so the Austrians kept a clean sheet but failed to score, and they had only 38% of the ball on average.

They did manage four shots on target in that game, which suggests the attacking side of the equation isn't completely missing.

Thursday night Europa League games sit awkwardly alongside weekend league fixtures, and sides often shuffle the pack to cope.

There is no supplied evidence of what Bournemouth have planned, so the sensible reading is that a few changes are possible but not wholesale ones.

The hosts also have a handful of absences to work around, which narrows the options in attack and in goal.

Sturm Graz set up in a 5-3-2 on matchday one and there is little reason to expect a dramatic change of approach in Bournemouth. They will probably stay compact and wait for chances.

Kick-off at the Vitality Stadium is 20:00 BST on Thursday 15 October 2026.

The UK broadcaster for this fixture is not confirmed yet, and this page will be updated closer to kick-off.

This is a single league-stage match rather than a two-legged tie, and there is no extra time or penalty shoot-out in the league phase, so the result is settled after 90 minutes plus stoppage time.