These early results greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | P | 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 |
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The English side struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
The Birmingham side, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the authorities and toward the field, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
Liam is a seasoned casino reviewer with over a decade of experience in the Dutch online gambling industry.
