European Cup Action Tonight: Marseille v Newcastle & More

Greetings to a fresh evening of electrifying European Cup football. 9 games are planned for this evening, with 3 English clubs in play. Chelsea meet Barcelona in the standout fixture of the evening, whilst Newcastle visit Marseille and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

We're at the midway stage of the group stage, meaning the rankings is taking form. All six British clubs are currently in the top 12, but there are only 2 points separating fifth and sixteenth place, so there's a sense of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. All remains open.

Match Schedule

Here are this evening's fixtures, each kicking off at 8pm except where noted:

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

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Blues team. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

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

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

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

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

Substitutes: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, claimed by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute goal has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage away to Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle arrived in the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League win against Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

Not that Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

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