Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
