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Welcome to a fresh evening of exciting European Cup football. 9 fixtures are scheduled for this evening, with 3 British teams in play. The Blues take on Barça in the standout match of the evening, while Newcastle visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the midway point of the group stage, meaning the rankings is beginning to form. All six British sides are currently in the upper twelve, but there are only two pts between fifth and sixteenth place, so there's a sense of volatility about the entire situation. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's fixtures, each kicking off at 8pm except where noted:

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

Team News

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues side. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is on the bench.

Chelsea (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

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

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The sole past encounter between Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a peedie bit of history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle arrived in the French south fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League victory over City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the European table, with nine pts 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 Barcelona vs Chelsea. Murray, the MBM version of Maradona is handling for that.