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Welcome to another night of thrilling Champions League football. 9 fixtures are planned for tonight, with 3 English teams in play. The Blues meet Barcelona in the marquee match of the night, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and Manchester City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the midway point of the league stage, meaning the rankings is starting to take shape. All six British teams are presently in the top 12, however there are only two pts separating fifth and 16th position, thus there's a hint of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.

Match Schedule

These are tonight’s fixtures, each kicking off at 8pm unless stated:

• Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
• Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
• 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

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues team. Excluded are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is on the bench.

Chelsea (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barça (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The sole past encounter involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, won by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute goal has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil lead away to Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League victory over Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the European table, with 9 pts from a available twelve and automatic qualification to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the MBM equivalent of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.