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Welcome to a fresh evening of electrifying Champions League soccer. 9 games are set for tonight, with three British teams in play. Chelsea meet Barcelona in the key match of the evening, while Newcastle travel to Marseille and City host Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

It's the midway stage of the league phase, so the standings is beginning to form. Each of the six English clubs are currently in the top 12, however there are only two pts separating fifth and 16th position, so there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. All remains open.

Match Schedule

Here are this evening's matches, all kicking off at 8pm unless stated:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Blues side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is on the bench.

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

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

Barcelona (probable 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semi-final of 2004, claimed by an rising star from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute sizzler has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead at Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although Newcastle traveled to the French south fresh from their restorative two-one home English top-flight victory over City on the weekend, and having beaten 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.

It's not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the last 16 nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”

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