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Greetings to a fresh night of thrilling Champions League football. 9 matches are planned for tonight, with three British clubs in action. The Blues face Barcelona in the marquee match of the evening, whilst Newcastle travel to the French side and City host Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the midway point of the group stage, meaning the table is starting to take shape. Each of the six English clubs are presently in the top 12, however there are only two points separating fifth and 16th place, thus there's a hint of volatility about the entire situation. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

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

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

Squad Updates

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

Yamal starts for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

Chelsea (probable four-three-three) Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Subs: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barça (possible four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, won by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. 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 sixth-minute sizzler has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home English top-flight win over City on the weekend, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said the coach, whose side are 6th in the European table, with nine points from a available twelve and automatic qualification to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

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