Nottingham Forest will host a rerun of their 1979 European Cup final win over Malmö on their return to continental action after 30 years away.
The Swedish champions will visit the City Ground for one of Forest’s eight Europa League ties, evoking memories of Trevor Francis’s winning goal in the first of their back-to-back European titles. It is the standout fixture in a draw whose buildup was peppered with controversy. Forest are competing on this stage only after swapping places with Crystal Palace, who were demoted to the Conference League after being ruled to have breached multi-club ownership rules.
“We have promised we need to be where we belong and that is the Premier League and European competitions,” the Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, said. The Greek businessman was sitting a matter of yards from the Palace co-owner, Steve Parish, during the draw ceremony but the pair did not appear to exchange words.
Forest are competing in Europe for the first time since a Uefa Cup campaign in 1995-96 that coincidentally brought two further meetings with Malmö in a two-legged first round tie, which Forest won on away goals. This time they will also welcome Porto, Ferencvaros and Midtjylland to the City Ground. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side will travel to Real Betis, Braga, Sturm Graz and Utrecht.
Aston Villa are England’s other Europa League contenders and, under the four-time winner Unai Emery, will feel confident of navigating a smooth path to the knockout phase. A home tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv may, however, provide the club with a logistical headache. Maccabi will be the first Israeli club to play in England since the attacks of 7 October 2023, which triggered war in Gaza. Recent European trips involving Maccabi include a match at Ajax last November that sparked serious violence and unrest in Amsterdam.
The other visitors to Villa Park will be Red Bull Salzburg, Young Boys and Bologna. Villa will travel to face Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord, Basel, Go Ahead Eagles and a José Mourinho-less Fenerbahce.
Conference League football means Palace, who squeezed through their playoff with Frederikstad on Thursday night, will play six league stage matches rather than eight. A short trip to Dublin to face Shelbourne will have novelty value, while their away game with Dynamo Kyiv is likely to be held in the Polish city Lublin owing to continued restrictions on matches being held in Ukraine. They will also visit Strasbourg, who share an owner with Chelsea in the form of BlueCo. Selhurst Park will play host to AZ Alkmaar, the Finnish side KuPS and the Cypriot club AEK Larnaca.
Rangers and Celtic will compete in the Europa League after costly Champions League playoff defeats. Russell Martin’s Gers will host Roma, Braga, Ludogorets and Genk; they will meet Porto, Ferencvaros, Sturm Graz and Brann away from home. Celtic and Brendan Rodgers will welcome Roma, Sturm Graz, Utrecht and Braga to Glasgow; they will visit Feyenoord, Crvena Zvezda, Midtjylland and Bologna.
A home meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk was the highlight of Aberdeen’s Conference League draw. The dates and order of both competitions’ ties are expected to be confirmed by Sunday.
