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Greetings to another evening of thrilling Champions League soccer. Nine matches are planned for this evening, with three English clubs in play. The Blues meet Barça in the marquee match of the night, while Newcastle visit Marseille and Manchester City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the halfway stage of the league stage, meaning the table is starting to take shape. All six English teams are presently in the top 12, but there are only two pts separating 5th and 16th position, thus there's a hint of volatility about the whole thing. All remains open.

Match Schedule

Here are tonight’s games, all kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Team News

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Chelsea side. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

The Blues (probable 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.

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

Barcelona (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead at the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League victory against City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with 9 pts from a available twelve and direct progression to the last 16 nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

We have a separate live blog for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.