These early results have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Matches | Goal Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtjylland | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | Freiburg | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 17 | Celtic | 5 | -1 | 7 |
| 25 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 35 | Rangers | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| 33 | Malmo FF | 4 | -5 | 1 |
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to get the tying goal!
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Osmers (German)
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
The European clash and historical connections. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous 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 hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
Elara Vance is a seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in betting strategies and statistical analysis.
