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63 min: The Nottingham monsoon is easing, maybe? Forest’s momentum has been scuppered by the weather.
61 min: Midtjylland send Lee on for the stricken Mbabu. He scoops the ball away after Gibbs-White fails to latch on to a pass in the middle. Domínguez then sends a ball across the face and Jesus doesn’t gamble.
There are puddles forming on the pitch. Every hood and umbrella is up in the stands but they’re not making much difference. The tops are off in the away end.
59 min: Midtjylland make two changes. Brumado and Simsir retreat to the relative dry of the dugout, with Uhre and Cho on in their place.
Forest should score after Mbabu pulls up and lets Hudson-Odoi roam free into the area. He pulls it back for Gibbs-White, who lays it off to Hutchinson but Midtjylland get bodies in the way. Both of them should have shot when they had the chance.
56 min: Mbabu tries to break at speed down the right but the ball won’t travel at the same pace on the sodden pitch. Not much else is happening/can happen in this weather.
54 min: You can’t see much through the downpour and its reflection off the floodnights.
53 min: I can’t quite remember seeing rain heavier than this during a football match. Not to mention the wind.
52 min: Out of nothing, Andreasson hits a bouncing shot through the driving rain from distance that Sels scampers over to parry for a corner.
The corner comes out to Andreasson, who pings his shot back off the post!
51 min: Midtjylland are having to weather a storm. Manager Tullberg looks worried and sits down with his tactics board. Gibbs-White tries to flick the ball in Jesus’s direction but it bobbles through to Olafsson. The rain is getting heavier and heavier.
49 min: Murillo plays a flat pass through the middle and Olafsson beats Gibbs-White to it just in time. Hudson-Odoi cuts inside and hits the side-netting.
47 min: Forest make a fast start. Aina runs on to Hutchinson’s cutback in the penalty area and smacks a shot straight at a jumping Gibbs-White in front of him. Domínguez then flashes a cracking effort wide from the edge of the box – it just bends away at the last minute.
Second half begins
Changes for both sides. Forest replace Morato (booked) with Neco Williams and Midtjylland swap out Denil Castillo for Valdemar Byskov Andreason.
The players head back out at the City Ground. On first-half evidence, Forest have it in them to establish a decent lead to take to Denmark next week.
It’s going to plan for Midtjylland so far but they’ve not had a shot since the 3rd minute.
More half-time reading: Barney Ronay on the Premier League’s midweek to forget in the Champions League.
Europa League half-time scores:
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Celta Vigo 1-0 Lyon
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Ferencvaros 1-0 Braga
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Genk 1-0 Freiburg
Conference league half-time scores:
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Crystal Palace 0-0 AEK Larnaca
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Fiorentina 0-0 Rakow Czestochowa
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Celje 0-3 AEK Athens
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Sigma Olomouc 0-0 Mainz
Half-time reading: Ollie Watkins made the difference for Aston Villa in their first leg at Lille earlier this evening.
Both teams have had headers cleared off the line. Murillo kept out Júnior Brumado’s effort in the first few minutes before Philip Billing came to his goalkeeper’s rescue after he came for a corner and Igor Jesus looped one over him.
Forest’s all-Brazilian back three lasted all of nine minutes after Jair Cunha was forced off with an ankle injury.
Half-time: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Midtjylland
Not a classic so far – and not helped by a referee cracking down on everything except some cheeky time-wasting by Midtjylland’s goalkeeper.
45+1 min: Gibbs-White’s cross from the resulting corner is poor and flies behind. Another minute of added time to play.
45 min: A free-kick goes Forest’s way after Brumado catches Domínguez with a flailing arm. Add that to the collection this half.
Big chance for Gibbs-White as he prods Hutchinson’s cutback goalwards and it’s blocked by Bech.
43 min: More Forest frustration at the referee as Hudson-Odoi gives away a free-kick in crossing range. Simsir’s delivery is headed away by Domínguez.
41 min: Superb effort from Anderson! There’s so little back-lift on his piledriver from distance and Olafsson’s outstretched glove stops it from going in the top corner.
Billing then has to clear off the line after Jesus’s header loops over Olafsson from the resulting corner.
39 min: Murillo wins possession on halfway and charges through the heart of the Midtjylland midfield. Defenders back off and back off, everyone in red urging him to let fly with that left foot but he lays it off to Hutchinson in the area, whose shot is blocked behind for a corner.
Boos as Anderson is penalised for catching Castillo, who was trying to foul him, in the face with his hand.
37 min: Olafsson is called into action. The Midtjylland keeper pushes an Aina drive out into his six-yard box and Jesus stabs it wide.
35 min: Simsir’s free-kick into the box is just begging to be attacked. Fortunately for Forest it bounces in the six-yard box and out for a goal-kick. Such a dangerous delivery and a hint as to why Midtjylland have scored half of their goals from set pieces in the Europa League this season.
33 min: Forest keep their centre-backs up and Morato isn’t far away from connecting with a cross lashed across the box by Anderson. Jesus then bobbles on wide from distance.
Morato goes into the book after Castillo beats him to the ball out wide and is clattered by the Brazilian.
31 min: Midtjylland threaten a bit more as Castillo gets it back off Mbabu in the penalty area. A better touch from the midfielder and he had a decent shooting chance. Hutchinson wins a corner up the other end for Forest, headed away by Bech.
29 min: A bit of panic in the Forest ranks after Brumado runs on to a long clearance unchallenged by Morato, who was expected a flag. When Brumado’s loose touch reaches Sels, that flag is raised. A bit of a faff.
27 min: Murillo mucks in by launching a goal-kick deep into the Midtjylland half.
25 min: Billing comes under pressure in his own half and his flailing limbs leave Anderson and Gibbs-White on the floor. Anderson copped one in the face and is making that clear to the referee. Pereira has some choice words with Tullberg on the touchline – it’s getting a bit feisty.
23 min: Midtjylland have not looked a threat since Murillo’s early goal-line clearance. Mike Tullberg looks at his watch in their dugout. Bit early for that.
21 min: Great save from Olafsson! Hutchinson works it on to his left some 20-25 yards out and hits a powerful shot into the far top corner that the Midtjylland keeper stops at full stretch.
18 min: Jesus is getting a bit of joy up against the Midtjylland centre-backs. He’s come up with some nice layoffs and wins a foul off Diao this time after a smart turn.
16 min: Olafsson in the Midtjylland goal is the first to lose his footing in the wet weather. Fortunately for him not to as great a cost as other goalkeepers in Europe this week – his clearance found a teammate anyway.
14 min: Some off-the-ball battling from Anderson wins it back for Forest as they try to create an opening. Jesus tries to play through Gibbs-White but Midtjylland crowd him out.
12 min: Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus combine on halfway to set up a promising Forest counterattack but Hutchinson’s cutback is easily cleared. The home side have settled after Brumado’s early chance but still Midtjylland’s away corner is the loudest section of the crowd.
10 min: Milenkovic strides on with a smile on his face. He swaps the shelter of the dugout for the wind and rain of the open. Just when you think you’ve got the night off …
8 min: Jair Cunha’s night is up – he turns to react to a Midtjylland counter and looks to have rolled his ankle. He manages to hobble off but will play no further part. Milenkovic is getting stripped.
6 min: Cries for Murillo to shoot (he usually obliges) are ignored by the Forest centre-back some 30 yards out. The hosts enjoy a good spell of possession but Anderson gives it away.
4 min: Off the line! Murillo has to come to Forest’s rescue after Billing gets to the byline and crosses for Brumado. His header is well placed and eludes Sels but not Murillo, who hooks it clear.
2 min: Forest have lined up with a back three with Callum Hudson-Odoi at left wing-back and Ola Aina on the right. Omari Hutchinson is in a more central role.
Kick-off
We’ve had the Europa League anthem (very underrated in my opinion), some of the mascots heading away draped in a player’s oversized jacket such is the weather. The referee’s coin almost flies away during the toss.
Nicolas Domínguez gets the ball rolling for Forest.
“Today the weather is very good,” smiles Vítor Pereira in his pre-match TV chat. It’s been tipping it down during the warm-ups and the wind is swirling. The players will leave the refuge of the dressing rooms any moment now …
Europa League full-time scores in the early kick-offs:
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Bologna 1-1 Roma
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Panathinaikos 1-0 Real Betis
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Stuttgart 1-2 Porto
Tonight’s other fixtures (8pm GMT):
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Celta Vigo v Lyon
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Ferencvaros v Braga
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Genk v Freiburg
Crystal Palace are also in Conference League action at home to AEK Larnaca.
Forest captain Ryan Yates starts on the bench and he’s keen to get his hands on that shiny vase in Istanbul in May, underlining the positive spin it can put on their disappointing season to date.
It’s an absolute privilege, something not just me, but I think the whole team, the whole club, we really haven’t taken for granted. It’s finding that balance. These are such special days and occasions and we want to do our absolute best.
We don’t want to just take part. We have a very ambitious owner, and us as a club and our supporters, they expect a lot from us with the quality we have, and we want to do ourselves proud, do them proud and really progress.
We still have an incredible opportunity to have a really positive season and you have to take these opportunities when they come.
Tottenham are not the only relegation-threatened team in the European knockouts. Forest’s starting XI suggests that Vítor Pereira is looking to use the Europa League to generate some momentum in their bid for Premier League survival.
Pereira was talking this week, which ends with Sunday’s visit of Fulham:
For now, we try to be competitive in both, in the Europe League and try to get points and results in our league. I need to try to balance, but to be competitive in the next game and afterwards against Fulham.
It is important for the players to be ready to help the team, we need to be ready to challenge and perform. We have quality in the squad, they are working hard, with good energy, trying to understand the tactical demands. We will be ready.
It’s Spurs v Forest the weekend after this, by the way …
Aston Villa have taken the lead in their first leg at Lille. That was an early kick-off and you can follow the final 20 minutes here:
Starting lineups
Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi come in from the start for Forest as Nikola Milenkovic drops out.
Nottingham Forest (3-5-2): Sels; Cunha, Morato, Murillo; Aina, Hutchinson, Anderson, Domínguez, Hudson-Odoi; Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus
Subs: Gunn, Willows, Williams, Sangaré, Lucca, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Abbott
Midtjylland make two changes from their last fixture, a 1-1 draw with AGF (winning 2-1 on aggregate) in the Danish cup on Sunday.
Midtjylland (3-5-2): Ólafsson; Diao, Erlic, Bech; Mbabu, Castillo, Billing, Bravo, Bak; Brumado, Simsir
Subs: Lössl, Ugboh, Lee, Cho, Gabriel, Chilufya, Uhre, Andreasen, Zé
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia)
Preamble
Ange Postecoglou was in the dugout the last time Nottingham Forest played Midtjylland in the Europa League. It was the beginning of October and, obviously, Big Ange didn’t oversee a win. Since that 3-2 home defeat in the league phase, Sean Dyche has come and gone, and now Vítor Pereira leads Forest deeper into their first European campaign for 30 years.
After seeing off Fenerbahce in the playoff round, Forest face Midtjylland in the first leg of their last 16 tie at the City Ground. The Danish side finished a lofty third in the league phase and their squad includes Premier League pedigree in Philip Billing, Kevin Mbabu and Mads Bech. The winner of this tie will take on Porto or Stuttgart in the quarter-finals and potentially set themselves on a collision course with Aston Villa in the last four.
Kick-off is 8pm (GMT) – team news is coming up shortly. Do get in touch with your thoughts on the game via email.
