Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League News

Current Table

These early results greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the secure qualification spots.

Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys

The English side clung on for the victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that during the closing minutes.

GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)

The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!

Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic

A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.

Match Updates

Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.

Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being struck in 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, The striker.

The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.

Match official: The German referee (Germany)

Lineups: Rangers vs Braga

Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.

The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, The striker.

Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)

Preamble

Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.

"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in just three years."

It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.

The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.

Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.

We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.