European Cup Action This Evening: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & More

Welcome to another evening of electrifying Champions League soccer. 9 matches are set for tonight, with three British teams in action. Chelsea face Barça in the key fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

We're at the halfway stage of the group phase, meaning the standings is beginning to form. All six English sides are currently in the top 12, but there are only two pts between fifth and 16th position, thus there's a whiff of volatility about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

Here are tonight’s fixtures, each starting at 8pm unless stated:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.

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

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

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barcelona (probable four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semi-final of 2004, won by an emerging star from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though The Magpies arrived in the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League win over Manchester City on the weekend, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only away win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

It's not that Howe was overly keen to talk about the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible 12 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 MBM version of Diego Maradona is handling for that.