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Greetings to a fresh night of exciting Champions League football. Nine matches are set for tonight, with 3 British teams in action. The Blues face Barcelona in the key match of the night, while The Magpies visit the French side and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway stage of the league stage, so the rankings is starting to take shape. All six British clubs are currently in the top 12, but there are only two pts separating fifth and 16th position, so there's a hint of uncertainty about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

These are tonight’s fixtures, each kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

• Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (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
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Team News

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

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

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

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

Barcelona (probable 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semi-final of 2004, won by an emerging star from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead away to Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although The Magpies traveled to the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that 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 team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a available 12 and direct 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 Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Maradona is on duty for that.