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Welcome to another night of exciting European Cup soccer. 9 fixtures are set for this evening, featuring 3 British clubs in action. The Blues face Barça in the standout match of the night, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway stage of the league phase, meaning the rankings is taking form. All six British sides are presently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts between fifth and sixteenth place, so there's a hint of uncertainty about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

Here are this evening's games, all kicking off at 8pm except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea team. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

Chelsea (probable four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barcelona (probable 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Substitutes: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home English top-flight win over City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is distinct from domestic games,” said the coach, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a possible twelve and direct progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

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