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Greetings to another night of electrifying Champions League football. Nine fixtures are planned for this evening, with three English clubs in play. The Blues face Barça in the standout match of the night, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the midway stage of the group stage, so the table is starting to take shape. All six British sides are currently in the upper twelve, but there are only two points separating 5th and 16th place, thus there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

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

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

Squad Updates

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

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

Chelsea (probable 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

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

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

The sole past encounter involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, claimed by an emerging superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home English top-flight victory against City on the weekend, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a possible 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 Barcelona vs Chelsea. Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Diego Maradona is handling for that.