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Welcome to a fresh night of thrilling European Cup soccer. Nine matches are set for this evening, featuring three British teams in play. Chelsea meet Barcelona in the key fixture of the night, while The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the midway point of the group phase, meaning the table is beginning to form. Each of the six English clubs are currently in the top 12, however there are only two points between fifth and 16th position, so there's a whiff of uncertainty about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's games, all kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues team. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

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

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

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

Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The sole past encounter involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semi-final of 2003-04, claimed by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute sizzler has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage away to Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League victory over City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away victory since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible twelve and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”

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