Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates

Current Table

These early results have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th position and returned to the safety of qualification spots.

Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys

Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.

90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back

Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to find an equaliser!

Celtic Secure Victory

A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Nygren.

Latest Action

Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.

The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.

Starting XI Revealed

Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.

Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.

Referee: The German referee (German)

Lineups: Rangers vs Braga

The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.

Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.

Referee: Lindhout (Holland)

Match Background

The European clash and historical connections. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.

"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in a short period."

It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.

Tonight's game is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.

Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival 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 urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.

Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.