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Welcome to another evening of thrilling European Cup football. 9 fixtures are set for this evening, with three British teams in play. Chelsea face Barça in the key fixture of the night, whilst Newcastle travel to the French side and City host Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the midway point of the league stage, meaning the standings is beginning to form. All six British clubs are currently in the top 12, but there are only two points separating 5th and sixteenth position, thus there's a hint of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

These are this evening's games, all starting at 8:00 PM unless stated:

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

Squad Updates

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

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

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

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

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

Subs: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, won by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies traveled to the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League victory over Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a available 12 and automatic 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 MBM equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.