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Welcome to another night of exciting European Cup soccer. Nine games are set for tonight, including 3 English teams in action. The Blues face Barça in the standout match of the evening, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

It's the midway stage of the group phase, so the table is taking form. All six British teams are presently in the top 12, however there are only two points separating fifth and 16th position, thus there's a whiff of uncertainty about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

These are this evening's matches, all kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

• Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
• Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
• Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
• Barcelona take on Chelsea
• Dortmund v Villarreal
• Man City v Leverkusen
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues lineup. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barça; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

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

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

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

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2004, claimed by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead away to Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League win over City on Saturday, and having defeated Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

Not that Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the coach, whose side are sixth in the European table, with nine points from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

We have a separate live blog for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.