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Welcome to another evening of electrifying European Cup soccer. 9 games are scheduled for this evening, with 3 English teams in action. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the marquee match of the evening, whilst Newcastle travel to Marseille and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the halfway stage of the group phase, meaning the table is taking form. Each of the six English clubs are presently in the upper twelve, however there are only 2 pts between fifth and 16th place, thus there's a hint of volatility about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

These are tonight’s games, all starting 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
• Villarreal meet Dortmund
• Man City v Leverkusen
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues lineup. Excluded are Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

The Blues (possible 4-3-3) Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

Barcelona (possible four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Historical Context

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2004, claimed by an emerging superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 lead at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle traveled to the French south fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League win over City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's 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 team are sixth in the European table, with 9 points from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the MBM version of Maradona is on duty for that.