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Greetings to a fresh night of electrifying European Cup football. 9 games are scheduled for this evening, with three English clubs in play. Chelsea take on Barça in the marquee match of the night, whilst Newcastle travel to the French side and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway point of the league stage, so the standings is taking form. Each of the six English clubs are presently in the upper twelve, however there are only 2 pts between 5th and 16th place, so there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

These are this evening's fixtures, all starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues side. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barça; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

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

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

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead at the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though The Magpies arrived in the French south coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home English top-flight victory over Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road win since early 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 European Cup is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the European table, with nine pts from a available 12 and automatic qualification to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Diego Maradona is handling for that.