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Welcome to a fresh evening of electrifying Champions League football. Nine games are set for this evening, including three British clubs in play. The Blues take on Barça in the marquee fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the halfway stage of the league phase, meaning the table is beginning to form. All six British teams are currently in the top 12, however there are only two pts separating fifth and 16th position, so there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's matches, all kicking off at 8pm unless stated:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is among the substitutes.

The Blues (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

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

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The sole past encounter involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, won by an emerging superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute goal has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League win over Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away win since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen 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 points from a possible twelve and automatic qualification to the last 16 nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

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