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Greetings to another night of thrilling European Cup soccer. Nine games are scheduled for this evening, including 3 British clubs in action. Chelsea face Barcelona in the standout match of the night, whilst Newcastle visit the French side and City host Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the halfway stage of the group phase, meaning the rankings is taking form. Each of the six English clubs are presently in the upper twelve, however there are only two pts between fifth and 16th position, so there's a whiff of uncertainty about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's games, each starting at 8pm unless stated:

• Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (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
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Blues lineup. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

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

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

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

Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2004, won by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a peedie bit of history.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute goal has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 advantage away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 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 only on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the European table, with 9 points from a possible twelve and direct 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. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Diego Maradona is handling for that.