Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th position and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Team | P | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side struggled of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
