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Welcome to another night of electrifying European Cup football. 9 games are scheduled for this evening, including three English teams in action. Chelsea face Barça in the marquee fixture of the evening, while The Magpies travel to the French side and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the halfway point of the group phase, meaning the rankings is beginning to form. All six English sides are presently in the top 12, however there are only two points between 5th and sixteenth position, thus there's a hint of uncertainty about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

These are this evening's games, all starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea side. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is on the bench.

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

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte.

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

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

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a peedie bit of history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil advantage away to Ajax.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though The Magpies arrived in the south of France coming off their restorative 2-1 home English top-flight victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road win since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the European table, with 9 pts from a available twelve and direct 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 Barcelona vs Chelsea. Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Diego Maradona is handling for that.