Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Side | Played | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Aston Villa secured for the win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side struggled of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game 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 serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.