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Greetings to a fresh night of thrilling European Cup soccer. 9 matches are scheduled for tonight, including 3 British clubs in play. The Blues take on Barça in the key fixture of the evening, while The Magpies travel to Marseille and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

We're at the midway stage of the group phase, meaning the table is starting to take shape. All six English clubs are currently in the upper twelve, but there are only two points separating fifth and 16th position, so there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

Here are this evening's fixtures, all kicking off at 8pm except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is on the bench.

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

Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Joshua Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barcelona (possible four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

The sole past encounter involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an rising star from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League victory against Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated 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 Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the European table, with 9 points from a available twelve and automatic progression to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

We have a separate live blog for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.