Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Club | Played | Goal 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and toward the field, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and memories of 1979. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
This match is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
