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Welcome to a fresh evening of thrilling European Cup soccer. Nine games are planned for this evening, including three English clubs in play. Chelsea meet Barcelona in the standout fixture of the night, while The Magpies travel to the French side and City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the midway stage of the group stage, so the rankings is beginning to form. Each of the six English clubs are presently in the top 12, however there are only two pts separating fifth and 16th position, thus there's a sense of uncertainty about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

Here are tonight’s fixtures, all starting at 8pm unless stated:

• Ajax 0-1 Benfica (17:45)
• Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
• Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
• Chelsea v Barcelona
• Dortmund v Villarreal
• Leverkusen visit Man City
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Lineup Changes

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues lineup. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Yamal starts for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.

Chelsea (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.

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

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

Substitutes: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dro Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, won by an emerging superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though The Magpies traveled to the south of France coming off their restorative two-one home English top-flight win over Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only away victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side 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 points from a available 12 and automatic progression 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. Scott Murray, the MBM version of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.