Europa League Preview: Nottingham Forest aim to build momentum against Sturm Graz

Nottingham Forest will travel to the Merkur Arena on Thursday night for a Europa League phase clash against Austrian champions Sturm Graz, as both sides look to revive their continental campaigns.

Sean Dyche’s team currently sit 17th in the standings after three matches, but their hopes of avoiding the knockout play-offs were reignited by a 2-0 victory over Porto last month — Dyche’s first and only win since taking charge. Forest head into this fixture following a 2-2 home draw with Manchester United, a result that highlighted both their attacking promise and defensive fragility.

Sturm Graz, meanwhile, find themselves 10 places below their Premier League visitors, with just one win — against Rangers — and two defeats from their opening three Europa League fixtures. Their domestic form has also taken a hit, with back-to-back Bundesliga losses to Rapid Vienna and Wolfsberger leaving them well off the title pace.

Team News

For the hosts, Matteo Bignetti is expected to return in goal after being benched for the 2-1 defeat at Rapid Vienna. Emanuel Aiwu and Seedy Jatta could also be recalled to the starting lineup, replacing Arjan Malic and Axel Kayombo. Tim Oermann and Dimitri Lavalee are set to anchor the defence, while Georgian playmaker Otar Kiteishvili remains key in midfield.

Forest, however, are dealing with multiple injury concerns. Douglas Luiz and Callum Hudson-Odoi are doubtful after sustaining hamstring and knock issues, respectively, during the weekend’s draw with Manchester United. Chris Wood is nearing a return from a knee injury but is unlikely to be risked. Defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ola Aina also remain sidelined, leaving Dyche short of full-back options.

Key Stats

Forest have scored exactly two goals in five of their last ten matches.

Sturm Graz have conceded two or more goals in four of their previous five outings.

The Tricky Trees have not kept a clean sheet away from home this season.

Sturm have lost their last four matches against English opposition, all against Manchester United.

Forest have conceded nine league goals from set-pieces this campaign.

Prediction

While this tie would normally favor Nottingham Forest, Dyche’s limited squad options could make the trip to Austria tricky. Still, Sturm Graz’s poor recent form offers the Premier League side an opportunity to take control of their Europa League destiny.

Forest’s defensive vulnerabilities remain a concern, but their attacking creativity — led by Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus — should be enough to secure an important away result.

Predicted Outcome: Sturm Graz 12 Nottingham Forest

Sowore escapes arrest warrant, court adjourns arraignment

Omoyele Sowore on Wednesday escaped a warrant of arrest being issued by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, following his failure to appear for arraignment.

Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged defamation alongside X Corporation (Twitter) and Meta (Facebook). He is accused of calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” on social media platforms.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, DSS counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), urged Justice Mohammed Umar to issue a bench warrant against Sowore for failing to appear despite being served with the charges and hearing notice.

Kehinde argued that Sowore’s absence showed “disrespect to the court” and urged the judge to direct security agencies to arrest him wherever he may be found.

He also dismissed a letter from human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju seeking an adjournment, saying it was an attempt to stall the case.

Counsel to Meta (Facebook), Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), backed the prosecution’s request, noting that Sowore had publicly accused the company of siding with the DSS.

However, Justice Umar held that the second defendant, X Corporation, had not been properly served with the charge sheet–only a hearing notice–which provided grounds to excuse Sowore’s absence.

The judge directed that all parties be duly served and adjourned the case to December 2, 2025, for arraignment.

ASUU blasts minister for ‘misleading Nigerians’, threatens fresh strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Jos branch, has accused the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, of misleading Nigerians over the Federal Government’s implementation of agreements reached with the union.

The lecturers also warned that they might resume their suspended strike if the government fails to meet their demands within the next two weeks.

In a statement signed by the branch chairperson, Prof. Jurbe Joseph Molwus, ASUU recalled that it had on October 22 issued a four-week ultimatum to the government to resolve all outstanding issues or face industrial action.

Two weeks later, the union said “not much progress” has been made as members were yet to receive their withheld salaries, wage award arrears, promotion arrears, and other entitlements.

“As we prepare for our National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for November 89, we expected that these payments would have been made by now. What we get instead are press statements from the Honourable Minister of Education. What we need are credit alerts, not misleading statements,” ASUU said.

The union also faulted the Minister’s claim that 2.3 billion had been released to clear salary and promotion arrears across federal universities, describing it as “false and embarrassing.”

“The Minister’s claim of clearing the backlog exists only in his imagination. 2.3 billion can barely cover three universities. The Minister must clarify what fraction of the outstanding entitlements this money covers and for whom,” the statement read.

SUU further expressed concern that the 50 billion revitalisation fund reportedly released weeks ago had not reached any university, describing the Minister’s statements as “contradictory and inconsistent.”

“It’s time for the Minister to realise that only genuine engagement beyond words can resolve ASUU’s demands. Palliatives do not cure diseases,” the union added.

SUU also called on President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate commitment to ending the crisis in the tertiary education sector by appointing a more competent minister who understands the challenges of higher education.

“The strike was only suspended as a sign of goodwill. We expect the government to reciprocate by addressing our demands without further delay,” Prof. Molwus warned, adding that the four-week ultimatum expires on November 21.

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’I tried to be calm,’ Regina Daniels hints at custody battle

Nollywood actress Regina Daniels has cried out over the impact of her marital crisis on her family, revealing that she wants custody of her children.

Th actress on Instagram on Wednesday, made a lengthy video, explaining that her family is currently in a turmoil because of her marital crisis.

Regina also referred to Sen. Ned Nwoko as her ex-husband, adding that she wants to have custody of her children.

“My family is actually in turmoil, it’s crazy but we will definitely come out of it. What gave me the courage to do this video is seeing how my family and everyone is fighting for me. My brother, mum and my sisters, everybody is fighting. My brother started a petition and in hours, there were a lot of people signing the petition. I’m going to fight for my children Ned, I tried to be calm, I tried to let go but I will fight and take them. I will train them with or without your support. You know that my ex-husband,” she stated

CAF expands Women’s AFCON to 16 teams ahead of 2026 Morocco tournament

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will now feature 16 teams instead of 12, starting from the 2026 edition in Morocco. The tournament will be held from March 17 to April 3, 2026.

In a statement released on Wednesday, CAF said the change is part of its plan to make women’s football in Africa stronger and more competitive.

Since the qualification matches for 2026 have already been completed, CAF has chosen four extra teams based on their

FIFA Women’s World Rankings. These teams are: Cameroon (66th) Ca’te d’Ivoire (71st) Mali (79th) Egypt (95th)

They will join the 12 countries that already qualified: Morocco (hosts), Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Senegal.

CAF explained that the expansion will give more African teams a chance to play at a high level and increase the visibility of women’s football worldwide.

The 2026 WAFCON will also serve as Africa’s qualifying tournament for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Transcorp-Heirs Energies partnership puts firm in position to boost power generation

Transnational Corporation Plc, Africa’s leading listed conglomerate, says its partnership with Heirs Energies Limited has improved gas supply to its turbines, placing the company in a strong position to ramp up power generation across its plants.

The President/Group Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp, Dr Owen Omogiafo, disclosed this during the company’s third-quarter investors’ call on Tuesday.

“We have eight new turbines that are located in Afam axis in Rivers State. Unfortunately, there were some gas challenges there,” Omogiafo said. “So what did we do as innovative, resilient people? Instead of denying Nigerians more access to power, we took it upon ourselves, with the support of regulators and other strategic partners, including our board, to relocate four out of the eight turbines from Afam to Delta State.”

She said the decision had already begun yielding results as gas supply in Delta is more stable.

“We can generate more power because we have more gas sources in that region, unlike the eastern axis,” she explained. “But things have also improved because as Heirs Energies has improved their gas, they’ve actually brought back to life a gas well which is now providing gas to the turbines that we have left in Afam as well as Ughelli.”

Omogiafo added that both Transcorp Power Plc and Transafam Power Limited remain focused on increasing generation capacity.

“For Transafam, we have successfully relocated four turbines from Afam to Ughelli, and we are finalising all the electrical connections. They’ve all been successfully tied to the grid,” she said. “For Transcorp Power, we target 750 megawatts of available capacity by year end.”

With access to gas supply from Heirs Energies, “we are in pole position to improve our power generation and deliver more reliable electricity to Nigerians.”

The Group recorded a 39% year-on-year increase in revenue, rising from 297.7 billion in Q3 2024 to 413.4 billion in Q3 2025. Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew by 18%, closing at 124.5 billion, compared to 105.5 billion in the same period last year.

What Angelique Kidjo said about making music for politics

Grammy-Award winning Beninese artist, Angelique Kidjo, has opened up on her choice to not make music for politicians.

While speaking on the Female Poets Society podcast, Kidjo explained the reason behind her choice, stating that some songs lose relevance after regime change.

She further explained that her decision came from an advice her father gave to her, noting that political songs are often time bound.

“My father always used to say to us, especially to me as a singer, do not write music for any political party because they come and they go. And once they’re gone, you go with it. Write your music with your opinions, be free writing your music. Don’t be sold to somebody because therefore, you don’t become the voice of the people anymore. You become the voice of the power. And when that power shifted, you’re off the window,” she stated.

Woman leader, supporters dump APC for NNPP in Kano

By Aminu Garko

The gale of defection from the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano to the All Progressives Congress, APC has continued. The latest of the ongoing defections between the two parties took place at Tarai in Kibiya Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday as the APC woman leader for the council, Hajiya Sabuwa Tarai, led over 100 members of the party to the NNPP.

The APC members were received into NNPP by Kano State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Alhaji Adamu A Kibiya, according to a statement issued by Director of Public Enlightenment, Kano Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Balarabe Kiru on Wednesda.

Kiru said that the defectors led by Tarai cited the development projects and programmes executed by Gov. Yusuf’s administration as the reason for their decision to join NNPP.

“We are impressed by the numerous projects executed by Gov. Yusuf at the local government and state level,” Tarai said.

The commissioner assured the defectors of equal treatment and welcomed them to the NNPP family, urging them to work together for the party’s progress.

NNPP to APC defections

Recall that more than 1,000 members of the NNPP and Kwankwasiyya Movement in Kano had last Saturday defected to APC.

The defectors cited numerous interventions by President Bola Tinubu and Sen. Barau Jibrin as the reason for their decision, according to a statement issued by Special Adviser to Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir on Sunday .

Mudashir said the group’s leader, Aminu Minjibir, said they had worked tirelessly for the success of the Kwankwasiyya Movement but regretted that the NNPP was not doing enough for the people of Kano State.

Sen. Jibrin, who received the defectors, described their decision to join the APC as the best course of action, saying the NNPP’s fortunes were on a downward slide.

He commended the defectors for making the right decision, saying the APC is the largest party in Africa and is doing well in human development.

lso, about 650 members of NNPP had on Thursday, October 30 dumped the NNPP for APC in Gobirawa Ward, Dala Local Government Area, and parts of Fagge and Ungoggo Local Government Areas of Kano State.

The defectors, who came in under various leadership groups, were received by the Managing Director of the Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, Rabiu Bichi.

Bichi welcomed the new members, citing President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and the APC’s commitment to fairness, inclusiveness, and democratic dividends.

Joy Cometh Ministries unveils 14th ‘365 Hallelujah’ Praise explosion in Ikorodu

Joy Cometh Ministries has announced the 14th edition of its annual praise and worship programme, 365 Hallelujah, which will hold on Friday, December 5, 2025.

The programme will hold from 7:00 p.m. till dawn, at the Joy Cometh Ground along Ebute-Igbogbo Road in Ikorodu, Lagos.

Since its inception in 2012, 365 Hallelujah has become one of the most anticipated worship events in Ikorodu and across Lagos, attracting thousands of participants who gather to express gratitude for God’s faithfulness throughout the year.

The event, which was originally hosted at the Ikorodu Town Hall, was moved to the Joy Cometh Ground after the growing number of worshippers outgrew the old venue. Although the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily disrupted physical gatherings, the programme has since returned stronger, and this year marks its second consecutive edition at the new, more spacious location.

The Senior Pastor of Joy Cometh Ministries and Convener of 365 Hallelujah, Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran, expressed excitement about the upcoming edition, describing it as a spiritual convocation of gratitude and renewal.

He noted that the event “is more than a gathering, it is a divine platform of thanksgiving and revival. Each year, we lift up hallelujah to the One who has kept us through 365 days of His faithfulness. This edition promises to be a deeper encounter with God’s presence and power.”

ttendees can expect a night of electrifying praise, soul-stirring worship, impactful teachings, and uplifting testimonies of divine intervention.

Joy Cometh Ministries urged Christians and residents of Lagos to join the all-night event and lift up 365 hallelujahs to the King of Kings in celebration of God’s unending mercy and grace. For further information and media enquiries, interested participants may contact 0806 880 9904 or 0815 102 0527.