🔗 Share this article

Welcome to another evening of electrifying Champions League football. 9 games are planned for this evening, including 3 English clubs in action. The Blues meet Barcelona in the marquee fixture of the night, whilst Newcastle visit the French side and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the midway point of the group stage, meaning the standings is starting to take shape. All six British teams are currently in the top 12, however there are only 2 points between fifth and sixteenth position, thus there's a whiff of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

These are tonight’s matches, all starting at 8pm unless stated:

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

Team News

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Chelsea team. Out go Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.

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

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

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

Referee Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semi-final of 2003-04, won by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute goal has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies arrived in the south of France coming off their restorative two-one home English top-flight win over City on the weekend, and having defeated Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the coach, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a available twelve and automatic progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I don’t know 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 handling for that.