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Greetings to another night of electrifying Champions League football. 9 games are set for this evening, including three English teams in play. Chelsea face Barcelona in the standout fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway stage of the league phase, so the standings is starting to take shape. All six British teams are currently in the top 12, however there are only 2 points separating 5th and sixteenth place, thus there's a hint of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. All remains open.

Match Schedule

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

• Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
• Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (17:45)
• Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
• Chelsea v Barcelona
• Villarreal meet Dortmund
• Leverkusen visit Man City
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Napoli v Qarabag
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues team. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

The Blues (probable 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barça (probable 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, won by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead at the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League win over Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the European table, with 9 pts from a available 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

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