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Greetings to a fresh evening of thrilling Champions League soccer. Nine matches are set for tonight, with 3 British clubs in play. Chelsea take on Barça in the key fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies travel to Marseille and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

It's the halfway point of the league phase, so the table is taking form. All six English teams are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only two pts between 5th and 16th place, so there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

Here are tonight’s games, all kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

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

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

Barcelona (probable four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging superstar from Ivory Coast. 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 early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute goal has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage at Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle arrived in the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League win over Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only away victory since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is distinct from domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a possible 12 and direct 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 Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Maradona is on duty for that.