Nottingham Forest drawn to face Malmo in repeat of 1979 European Cup final

Nottingham Forest will face Malmo in a repeat of their 1979 European Cup final triumph during their Europa League campaign this season.

Trevor Francis headed the only goal in Munich to seal Forest’s famous win and they successfully defended their European crown the following season by beating Hamburg.

Forest, promoted to the Europa League due to Crystal Palace’s demotion, having qualified for the Conference League last season, will play Malmo at the City Ground.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side also face home ties against Porto, Ferencvaros and Midtjylland, with away trips to Real Betis, Braga, Sturm Graz and Utrecht.

UEFA confirmed during the draws for both the Europa League and Conference League at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday that all match dates will be released no later than Sunday.

Aston Villa will play last season’s Coppa Italia winners Bologna at Villa Park and three more home ties against Salzburg, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Young Boys, while they face trips to Feyenoord, Fenerbahce, Basel and Go Ahead Eagles.

Rangers, who dropped down to the Europa League following their thumping 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League play-offs, will face Roma, Braga, Ludogorets and Genk at Ibrox.

Russell Martin’s side will travel to Porto, Ferencvaros, Sturm Graz and Brann for their away ties.

Celtic also missed out on progression to the main Champions League draw after losing out on penalties to Kazakh side Kairat in their play-off.

The Scottish champions will welcome Roma, Braga, Sturm Graz and Utrecht to Celtic Park, with away ties against Feyenoord, Red Star Belgrade, Midtjylland and Bologna.

In the Conference League, Palace will play six ties in the league phase, with AZ Alkmaar, Kups Kuopio and Larnaca scheduled to visit Selhurst Park and away trips to Dynamo Kyiv, Strasbourg and League of Ireland champions Shelbourne.

Palace sealed their place in the league phase by beating Norwegian side Frederikstad 1-0 on aggregate in their qualifier, having been demoted from the Europa League for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

Aberdeen dropped into the Conference League following their 5-2 aggregate defeat to Steaua Bucharest on Thursday night and they will play Shakhtar Donetsk, Strasbourg and FC Noah at Pittodrie, with away ties against Sparta Prague, AEK Athens and Larnaca.