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Welcome to a fresh evening of thrilling Champions League soccer. Nine games are planned for this evening, including 3 English clubs in play. Chelsea take on Barça in the key fixture of the night, while The Magpies travel to Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the midway point of the league stage, meaning the table is beginning to form. Each of the six British clubs are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only 2 points between 5th and sixteenth place, so there's a whiff of volatility about the whole thing. All remains open.

Tonight’s Fixtures

Here are tonight’s matches, each starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Lineup Changes

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea team. Out go Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

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

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

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

Barça (probable 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dro Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The sole past encounter between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal 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.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute sizzler has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 lead at the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although The Magpies arrived in the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League win over City on Saturday, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the coach, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 pts from a possible twelve and direct qualification to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

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