Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in just three years."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture 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 Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
