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Welcome to another night of thrilling European Cup football. 9 matches are set for this evening, featuring 3 British teams in play. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the standout match of the night, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the midway stage of the group stage, so the rankings is beginning to form. Each of the six English teams are presently in the top 12, however there are only 2 points separating fifth and 16th place, so there's a hint of uncertainty about the entire situation. Everything is to play for.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's fixtures, all starting at 8pm unless stated:

• Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (17:45)
• Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (17:45)
• Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
• Chelsea v Barcelona
• Dortmund v Villarreal
• Man City v Leverkusen
• Newcastle travel to Marseille
• Napoli v Qarabag
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Team News

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea lineup. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

Chelsea (probable 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barça (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.

Official Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The sole past encounter involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2004, claimed by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead away to Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though The Magpies traveled to the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home English top-flight win against Manchester City on the weekend, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said the coach, whose team are 6th in the European table, with nine pts from a available 12 and automatic qualification to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.