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Greetings to another evening of electrifying Champions League football. Nine fixtures are set for this evening, with three British teams in action. Chelsea meet Barcelona in the marquee match of the evening, whilst Newcastle travel to Marseille and City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the halfway stage of the league stage, so the table is taking form. All six English clubs are currently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts between fifth and sixteenth position, so there's a sense of snakes and ladders about the entire situation. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

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

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

Lineup Changes

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea side. Out go Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

The Blues (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Referee Vincic (Slovenian).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, won by an emerging superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle arrived in the south of France fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League win over City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is distinct from domestic games,” said the coach, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a possible twelve and direct qualification to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM version of Maradona is on duty for that.