🔗 Share this article

Greetings to another evening of exciting Champions League soccer. Nine games are scheduled for this evening, including three English teams in play. The Blues take on Barça in the marquee fixture of the night, while The Magpies visit the French side and City welcome Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the midway stage of the group phase, so the rankings is taking form. All six English sides are presently in the top 12, but there are only two points between fifth and sixteenth place, so there's a hint of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

This Evening's Games

Here are this evening's fixtures, each starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Blues team. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is on the bench.

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

Subs: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barça (probable 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Substitutes: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, claimed by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead away to Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home English top-flight win over City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with 9 pts from a available twelve and direct qualification to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is on duty for that.