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

League Position

The opening scores strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the protected knockout positions.

Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys

Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.

Late Goal: Monteiro Scores

Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!

Celtic Secure Victory

A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.

Latest Action

Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.

Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.

Lineups: Forest vs Malmö

Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.

Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.

Referee: Osmers (Germany)

Team News: Rangers v Braga

The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.

The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.

Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)

Preamble

The European clash and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.

"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in a short period."

One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.

This match is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.

Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.

We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.