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Welcome to a fresh evening of exciting Champions League soccer. 9 fixtures are planned for tonight, with three English teams in play. Chelsea face Barcelona in the key fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway point of the league stage, meaning the rankings is beginning to form. All six British teams are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only two points separating 5th and 16th position, thus there's a whiff of volatility about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

This Evening's Games

Here are tonight’s games, each kicking off at 8pm except where noted:

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

Lineup Changes

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea side. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

Subs: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

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

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging star from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City 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 6th-minute strike has given Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage at Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle traveled to the south of France coming off their restorative two-one home Premier League win against City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road win since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

Not that Howe was overly keen to discuss the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a available twelve and automatic progression to the last 16 nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

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