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Greetings to another evening of exciting European Cup football. Nine matches are planned for tonight, with three English clubs in play. Chelsea meet Barça in the marquee fixture of the night, while The Magpies visit the French side and City host Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

It's the midway point of the group phase, meaning the table is starting to take shape. Each of the six British teams are currently in the upper twelve, however there are only 2 pts separating 5th and 16th place, so there's a hint of uncertainty about the entire situation. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

These are tonight’s fixtures, each kicking off at 8:00 PM unless stated:

• 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
• Napoli v Qarabag
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Squad Updates

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

Lamine Yamal starts for Barça; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

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

Barça (possible 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semi-final of 2004, claimed by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a peedie bit of history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute goal has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though The Magpies arrived in the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home English top-flight victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the European table, with 9 points from a possible 12 and automatic qualification to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is on duty for that.