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Greetings to another evening of exciting European Cup football. 9 games are scheduled for this evening, including three English clubs in action. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the key fixture of the evening, while Newcastle travel to the French side and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the midway stage of the group phase, meaning the table is starting to take shape. Each of the six British sides are currently in the top 12, however there are only two pts separating fifth and 16th place, so there's a sense of snakes and ladders about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

Here are this evening's games, each kicking off at 8:00 PM unless stated:

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

Team News

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea lineup. Excluded are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

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

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

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

Referee Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The sole past encounter involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

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

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League win against Manchester City on the weekend, and having defeated Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only away win since early April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible twelve and automatic qualification to the knockout phase 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. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is on duty for that.