Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Matches | Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtjylland | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | Freiburg | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 17 | Celtic | 5 | -1 | 7 |
| 25 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 35 | Rangers | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| 33 | Malmo FF | 4 | -5 | 1 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but had just additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Harm Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
