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Welcome to another night of electrifying Champions League soccer. 9 matches are set for this evening, with 3 English clubs in action. Chelsea take on Barça in the key fixture of the evening, whilst Newcastle travel to Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the halfway point of the group stage, meaning the standings is beginning to form. All six English clubs are currently in the top 12, but there are only 2 points between fifth and sixteenth position, so there's a hint of volatility about the whole thing. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

Here are tonight’s games, all kicking off at 8pm 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
• Dortmund v Villarreal
• Man City v Leverkusen
• Newcastle travel to Marseille
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Team News

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues team. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

The Blues (probable four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barça (possible 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The sole past encounter involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2003-04, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a peedie bit of history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute strike has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead at the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle arrived in the French south coming off their restorative two-one home Premier League victory over Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only away win since early April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible twelve and direct progression to the last 16 nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”

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