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Greetings to another evening of electrifying European Cup football. 9 games are set for tonight, with three English clubs in play. The Blues meet Barcelona in the marquee match of the evening, whilst The Magpies travel to Marseille and City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway stage of the league stage, so the table is beginning to form. All six English sides are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only two pts between 5th and sixteenth position, so there's a sense of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.

Match Schedule

Here are tonight’s fixtures, all 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
• Chelsea v Barcelona
• Villarreal meet Dortmund
• Leverkusen visit Man City
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Napoli v Qarabag
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

Subs: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

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

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

Official Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging superstar from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute sizzler has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil lead away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although Newcastle arrived in the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home English top-flight win over City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the European table, with nine points from a available 12 and direct qualification to the last 16 nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Diego Maradona is handling for that.