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

League Position

The initial outcomes greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of playoff places.

Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys

Aston Villa secured for the win and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.

90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back

Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to find an equaliser!

Glasgow Side Wins 3-1

A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.

Latest Action

Villa, meanwhile, retained 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 away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.

Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö

Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, The striker.

Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.

Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)

Team News: Rangers v Braga

The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.

The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.

Match official: The Dutch referee (Holland)

Historical Context

Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs 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 the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.

"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in three seasons."

It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.

The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.

Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.

Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.