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

Current Table

The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the protected knockout positions.

Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1

Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.

90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back

Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to get the tying goal!

Celtic Secure Victory

A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.

Game Developments

Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.

Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.

Lineups: Forest vs Malmö

Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.

Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.

Official: Harm Osmers (German)

Team News: Rangers v Braga

The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.

The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.

Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)

Historical Context

The European clash and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.

"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."

One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under British coach Houghton.

Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing 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 smart money is on the English side tonight.

Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the middle of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.

Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.