Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results have significant impact on the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Team | P | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
The English side clung on for the win and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final decades past that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield 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 Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
