Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News

League Position

These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the secure qualification spots.

Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys

Villa managed to hold on for the victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.

90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back

Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!

Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic

A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.

Match Updates

The Birmingham side, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.

Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a throwable object.

Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö

Nottingham Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, The striker.

The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.

Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)

Starting Players

The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.

The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.

Official: Lindhout (Holland)

Historical Context

Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.

"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in a short period."

Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.

This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.

Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been beaten by 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 exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.

Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.