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Greetings to another night of electrifying European Cup football. 9 fixtures are planned for tonight, including three British teams in play. Chelsea take on Barça in the marquee match of the evening, whilst Newcastle visit Marseille and City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the midway stage of the group phase, so the rankings is taking form. Each of the six English sides are currently in the upper twelve, but there are only 2 pts between 5th and sixteenth place, so there's a sense of volatility about the entire situation. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's matches, all starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

• Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
• Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (5.45pm)
• Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
• Barcelona take on Chelsea
• Dortmund v Villarreal
• Leverkusen visit Man City
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Squad Updates

Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea team. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is among the substitutes.

The Blues (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.

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

Barça (possible 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The sole past encounter between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, won by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute goal has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead at the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home English top-flight win over City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is distinct from domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a available 12 and automatic qualification to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

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