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Welcome to a fresh evening of electrifying European Cup soccer. 9 fixtures are set for tonight, featuring 3 British clubs in action. The Blues face Barça in the marquee fixture of the night, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and City host Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the halfway stage of the group phase, so the table is taking form. All six English sides are presently in the top 12, however there are only two points between 5th and sixteenth place, thus there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

These are this evening's matches, all starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Team News

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea lineup. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

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

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage away to Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though The Magpies traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League victory over Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a available 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 version of Maradona is on duty for that.