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Welcome to another night of thrilling Champions League soccer. Nine games are set for tonight, with 3 British teams in action. Chelsea face Barça in the standout match of the evening, whilst The Magpies travel to Marseille and City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

We're at the midway stage of the group phase, so the standings is taking form. All six British clubs are currently in the upper twelve, however there are only two pts separating 5th and sixteenth position, so there's a sense of volatility about the entire situation. All remains open.

Tonight’s Fixtures

These are this evening's matches, each kicking off at 8:00 PM except where noted:

• Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
• Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (17:45)
• Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
• Barcelona take on Chelsea
• Villarreal meet Dortmund
• Man City v Leverkusen
• Newcastle travel to Marseille
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague

Team News

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea team. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

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

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

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

Substitutes: Wojciech Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The sole past encounter between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semifinal of 2004, won by an rising star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 lead at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies arrived in the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League win against City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road victory since the start of April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.

Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a possible 12 and direct progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”

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