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Greetings to another night of exciting Champions League football. 9 matches are planned for this evening, featuring three British teams in play. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the marquee fixture of the night, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the halfway point of the group phase, so the rankings is taking form. All six British clubs are presently in the top 12, however there are only two points separating 5th and 16th place, so there's a whiff of snakes and ladders about the entire situation. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

Here are tonight’s fixtures, each starting at 8pm unless stated:

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

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea team. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is on the bench.

The Blues (possible four-three-three) Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

Barcelona (probable 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Substitutes: Wojciech Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The sole past encounter between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although The Magpies arrived in the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home English top-flight win over City on Saturday, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road victory since early April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.

Not that Howe was eager to talk about the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the European table, with 9 pts from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.