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Greetings to a fresh night of thrilling Champions League football. Nine fixtures are set for tonight, with 3 British clubs in action. The Blues meet Barcelona in the key match of the night, while The Magpies travel to the French side and City host Bayer Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

We're at the halfway point of the league stage, so the standings is starting to take shape. All six British sides are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only two points separating 5th and 16th position, so there's a hint of volatility about the entire situation. All remains open.

Match Schedule

Here are this evening's matches, all starting at 8pm except where noted:

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

Team News

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

Lamine Yamal starts for Barça; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

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

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

Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dro Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, claimed by an emerging superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage at the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although The Magpies arrived in the French south coming off their restorative 2-1 home Premier League victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a available 12 and automatic progression to the last 16 nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

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