🔗 Share this article

Greetings to a fresh evening of thrilling European Cup football. 9 matches are set for tonight, with 3 English clubs in play. The Blues take on Barça in the standout fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies travel to Marseille and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the halfway point of the group stage, so the standings is taking form. All six British teams are presently in the upper twelve, however there are only 2 pts between fifth and sixteenth position, thus there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

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)
• Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
• Chelsea v Barcelona
• Dortmund v Villarreal
• Leverkusen visit Man City
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Squad Updates

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Chelsea team. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

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

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

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

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

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, claimed by an rising star from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead away to Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though The Magpies traveled to the south of France coming off their restorative two-one home Premier League victory over City on Saturday, and having defeated Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road victory since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a available twelve and direct qualification to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

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