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Greetings to another evening of electrifying European Cup soccer. 9 matches are planned for tonight, featuring three British clubs in action. Chelsea face Barcelona in the standout fixture of the night, while Newcastle visit Marseille and City host Bayer Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the midway stage of the league phase, meaning the table is beginning to form. All six English sides are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only two pts between fifth and 16th position, so there's a hint of uncertainty about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

Here are tonight’s games, each starting at 8pm unless stated:

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

Team News

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

Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is on the bench.

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

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

Barcelona (possible four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Substitutes: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, won by an emerging star from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage away to Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies arrived in the French south fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League victory over Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their only away victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are 6th in the European table, with 9 pts from a available twelve and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.