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Key occasions
Malmo in entrance at Genk via Taha Ali.
Big probability for Villa! Ollie Watkins smacks a shot from the sting. Alexander Schlager saves, however spills the ball in entrance of him. Harvey Elliott follows in and faucets the ball previous the goalie, and it bizarrely bounces off his boots and out! An inadvertant and really lucky save. “A scorpion save,” is Smith’s helpful phrase on TNT Sports activities.
First half kick-off!
Allez! Right here we go! Let battle begin!
“The most important shock to date is Harvey Elliott’s luscious locks gracing the turf at Villa Park,” emails Wil. “So many followers have needed to see extra of him and fewer of the much-maligned Evann Guessand – however none of us have the faintest concept of what’s going on right here.”
SORRY it’s 5 adjustments for Forest, not 4. Ryan Yates is the opposite participant on the teamsheet tonight who didn’t begin at Fortress Gtech.
“We would like the nice feeling of successful video games,” says the Nottingham Forest supervisor Sean Dyche. … it’s getting again to efficiency ranges.
“A few of these gamers are going on the market tonight and giving me a marker, about their efficiency ranges, that they’re able to go.
“We’ve been navigating that [the fixture pileup] and I feel we’ve performed fairly effectively …
“It’s that feel-good issue. We wish to win … however we wish to maintain that group mentality going forwards.”
“Chirpy, front-foot – that’s Sean Dyche for you,” remarks Matt Smith on TNT Sports activities.
Forest can safe a house second leg by not dropping decrease than sixteenth, says the estimable Matt Smith on TNT Sports activities. Sounds completely believable.
I merely need to share the quote of the day from the Australian Open. Aryna Sabalenka on her brush with an umpire throughout her girls’s singles semi-final win in opposition to Elina Svitolina:
“How do I say in a pleasant means? She actually pissed me off.”
Rob Smyth
Soccer followers are used to seeing a goalkeeper cost upfield for a set piece in the previous few minutes of a recreation. Jan Tomaszewski, the Polish “clown” who denied England a spot on the 1974 World Cup, could have been the primary to take action, and it has turn out to be normalised within the twenty first century. On Wednesday in Lisbon, there was a brand new twist on an outdated tactic. Within the 98th minute, Benfica keeper Anatoliy Trubin legged it upfield – at a time when his group have been main Actual Madrid.
I noticed Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest with my very own eyes, and Sean Dyche’s group have been glorious. Individuals mentioned it was a classically Dyche-ian show, defending solidly and hitting on the break, but it surely was additionally one way or the other a tribute to Nuno Espírito Santo, whose Forest group received 2-0 at Brentford final season taking part in the identical means. Murillo and Milenkovic have been each again to their miserly greatest in central defence.
Porto v Rangers groups
Porto: Costa, Alberto Costa, Bednarek, Kiwior, Moura, Froholdt, Varela, Mora, William, Aghehowa, Pepe. Substitutes: Claudio Ramos, Joao Costa, Stephen Eustaquio, Veiga, Sanusi, Rosario, Sainz, Prpic, Gul, Fernandes, Miranda, Bras.
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Raskin, Diomande, Meghoma, Gassama, Chermiti, Curtis. Substitutes: Kelly, Wright, Souttar, Aasgaard, Antman, Miovski, Moore, Stewart, Smith, Gentles, Kerr.
Referee: Jasper Vergoote (Belgium)
Celtic v Utrecht groups
Celtic: Schmeichel, Donovan, Trusty, Scales, Tierney, Nygren, McGregor, Engels, Yang, Maeda, Tounekti. Substitutes: Sinisalo, Doohan, Balikwisha, McCowan, Iheanacho, Bernardo, Murray, Forrest, McArdle, Ralston, Hale, Isiguzo.
Utrecht: Barkas, Vesterlund, van der Hoorn, Viergever, Murkin, Engwanda, Zechiel, Cathline, de Wit, Blake, Rodriguez. Substitutes: Brouwer, Gadellaa, van den Berg, Bozdogan, El Karouani, Didden, El Arguioui, van Ommeren, Menzo, Haller.
Referee: Mohammed Al Emara (Finland)
Nottingham Forest v Ferencvaros groups
I make it 4 adjustments for Forest from the 2-0 win at Brentford. Abbott, Morato, McAtee and Ndoye come into the beginning lineup. Murillo, Gibbs-White and Hudson-Odoi all on the bench.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, McAtee, Yates, Sangare, Ndoye, Igor Jesus, Dominguez. Substitutes: Gunn, Willows, Murillo, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Bakwa, Aina, Whitehall, Thompson, Sinclair, Hammond.
Ferencvaros: Grof, Cisse, Otvos, Szalai, Makreckis, Romao, Kanichowsky, Levi, Cadu, Yusuf, Zachariassen. Substitutes: Varga, Toth, Keita, Gruber, Golik, Lakatos, Madarasz, Joseph, Nagy.
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)
“It’s clear,” O’Neill says of Celtic’s process tonight. “Executing it’s one thing else. It’s at residence. We’ve received some benefit there with the large crowd … we’ve made it troublesome for ourselves, besides, it’s a recreation to win.
“We’ve expended a whole lot of vitality within the final couple of weeks. The bench will play a vital half.
“It’s bringing it ahead. It’s extra video games to stay up for, if we make it [into the knockouts]. If you’re attempting to chase down the league, I’d be delighted if I used to be the opposition, if Celtic progressed … but it surely’s all a part of it. You’ve received to benefit from it.”
Aston Villa v Salzburg groups
It’s six adjustments for Villa from the 2-0 win at Newcastle. Tielemans, Bogarde, Lindelof, Rogers, Maatsen and Elliott are available in.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Bogarde, Lindelof, Mings, Digne, Sancho, Onana, Hemmings, Buendía, Watkins, Elliott. Substitutes: Bizot, Wright, Money, Konsa, Torres, Jimoh, Maatsen, Rogers, Younger.
Salzburg: Schlager, Trummer, Gadou, Schuster, Kratzig, Bidstrup, Kitano, Diabate, Baidoo, Konate, Alajbegovic. Substitutes: Zawieschitzky, Hamzic, Rasmussen, Terzic, Bischoff, Onisiwo, Kjaergaard, Diambou, Lainer, Lukic, Aguilar, Yeo.
Referee: Rohit Saggi (Norway)
What are your hopes, expectations, desires and fears? You possibly can electronic mail me.
Tonight’s newest Europa League scores can be found right here.
I imply, they are going to be after 8pm UK time / 9pm CET. For the time being, it’s 0-0 in every single place.
“Villa really feel like a correct membership once more,” says your roving reporter Martin Keown at Villa Park. Unsure what “correct” means there, however OK.
“They’ll win the Premier League. Everybody’s saying they will’t.”
Can they? Do they? Are they?
Steve Sidwell there, with some ideas on Martin O’Neill’s administration fashion. He mentioned the present Celtic interim supervisor didn’t get too concerned at coaching in his expertise however come every Friday “he would come into his personal”, engendering a “siege mentality” and making gamers really feel “10 ft tall”.
Celtic are considered one of 5 groups that would drop into the elimination locations tonight. Younger Boys, Brann, Lille and GNK Dinamo are the opposite 4. In different phrases, fewer than 10 factors within the desk, and also you’re in danger.

Max Rushden
It’s half an hour after trying to observe 18 soccer matches on the identical time on the ultimate match day of the Champions League group stage, so it’s nonetheless a little bit early to inform whether or not I feel it was an excellent night time of soccer or not.
The data overload from a TV, laptop computer and cellphone means I may have a few weeks to essentially course of it – by which era after all it will all be forgotten and we’ll be questioning whether or not one level from three Premier League video games is sufficient for Thomas Frank to maintain his job.
Right here’s a touch of switch information to your delectation:
The next 13 sides secured their place within the knockouts after Matchday 7, in any other case often known as final week:
Bologna, Braga, Celta Vigo, Crvena Zvezda, Fenerbahçe, Genk, Nottingham Forest, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Porto, Roma, Stuttgart, Viktoria Plzen.
In the meantime Lyon, Villa, Ferencvaros, Freiburg, Midtjylland and Actual Betis have been already via as of Matchday 6.
And once more, Aston Villa and Lyon are the 2 groups assured to be within the spherical of 16 already. Clear?

Ewan Murray
Martin O’Neill’s involvement in celebrated European moments in Celtic’s historical past means he’s entitled to bridle on the perception that area is not a precedence. O’Neill used pre-match media duties for the Europa League go to of Utrecht on Thursday to level in direction of what has the potential to be an uplifting few days for the Scottish champions.
“We received a end in Feyenoord and fought our guts out in Bologna,” he mentioned. “We don’t now wish to simply throw it away. We wish to try to go for it if we will. We might nonetheless lose the sport. We would not win the match and we’d exit of the competitors, however we wish to give it a go.”
Tonight we reveal the Uefa Europa League desk – IN FULL and UNREDACTED:
Because it stands, Lyon, Aston Villa, Freiburg, Midtjylland, Braga, Roma, Ferencvaros and Actual Betis are the golf equipment within the high eight.
As ninth-placed Porto are on 14pts, it implies that Lyon and Aston Villa, joint-top and each on 18pts, are the one golf equipment mathematically assured to complete within the high eight, and go straight to the spherical of 16.
Preamble
Welcome to the Union of European Soccer Associations Europa League Matchday 8. It’s all to play for this night as 11 hungry groups compete for a paltry 5 remaining knockout section locations, to not point out the tear-up to make it into the hallowed high eight and qualify robotically for the final 16.
Aston Villa v Salzburg, Nottingham Forest v Ferencvaros and Celtic v Utrecht can be among the many fixtures which are uppermost in our ideas among the many feast of 18 matches. However we’ll attempt to keep throughout the mind-melting complexity of the league-phase finale in all its glory.
Will we witness something remotely as thrilling because the goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin “doing a Jimmy Glass” in opposition to Actual Madrid, and sending Benfica into the Champions League knockouts with a 98th-minute header? It appears unlikely however stranger issues have occurred.
Kick-offs at 8pm UK/9pm CET.