European Cup Action This Evening: Marseille v Newcastle & More

Welcome to a fresh night of electrifying Champions League football. 9 matches are set for this evening, featuring three English clubs in play. Chelsea take on Barça in the standout fixture of the night, whilst Newcastle visit the French side and City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the halfway stage of the league phase, meaning the rankings is starting to take shape. All six English sides are presently in the top 12, but there are only 2 points between 5th and sixteenth position, so there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.

Tonight’s Fixtures

Here are this evening's fixtures, each kicking off at 8pm unless stated:

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

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barça; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.

Chelsea (probable four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.

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

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

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

Referee Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

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

Early Match Updates

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute goal has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a one-nil lead away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle arrived in the French south coming off their restorative two-one home Premier League victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to talk about the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the European table, with nine pts from a available twelve and automatic progression to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”

We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.