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Greetings to another evening of thrilling European Cup football. Nine matches are set for tonight, including three English teams in play. Chelsea meet Barça in the marquee match of the night, while The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the midway stage of the league phase, meaning the table is taking form. All six English sides are presently in the top 12, but there are only two pts between 5th and 16th place, so there's a hint of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.

Tonight’s Fixtures

Here are tonight’s matches, all starting at 8pm except where noted:

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

Team News

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues lineup. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

Chelsea (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.

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

Barcelona (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute goal has given Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil lead at the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle arrived in the French south coming off their restorative 2-1 home Premier League victory over Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Howe was eager to talk about the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a available twelve and automatic qualification to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

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