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Welcome to a fresh night of thrilling European Cup football. Nine matches are scheduled for this evening, with three English teams in action. The Blues meet Barça in the key match of the evening, while Newcastle visit Marseille and City welcome Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the halfway stage of the group stage, meaning the rankings is taking form. All six British sides are currently in the top 12, but there are only 2 pts between 5th and sixteenth place, thus there's a sense of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's games, each kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barça; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

The Blues (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barça (possible four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Bernal, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The sole past encounter between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, claimed by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage at Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although The Magpies traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League victory over City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only away win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is distinct from domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 pts from a possible 12 and automatic qualification to the last 16 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. Scott Murray, the MBM version of Diego Maradona is handling for that.