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

Latest Standings

These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and are back in the protected qualification spots.

Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys

The English side clung on for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.

90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back

Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!

Celtic Secure Victory

A significant and important win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.

Latest Action

Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.

Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.

Starting XI Revealed

The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.

Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.

Official: Osmers (from Germany)

Team News: Rangers v Braga

Rangers: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.

Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.

Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)

Preamble

Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams 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 continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.

"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."

It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.

The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.

Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.

Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.