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Greetings to a fresh night of electrifying European Cup soccer. Nine fixtures are planned for tonight, including three British clubs in play. The Blues meet Barcelona in the standout match of the night, while Newcastle visit the French side and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

It's the midway stage of the group phase, so the rankings is beginning to form. Each of the six British teams are currently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts between 5th and 16th position, so there's a whiff of uncertainty about the entire situation. All remains open.

Match Schedule

These are this evening's games, each kicking off at 8:00 PM unless stated:

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

Team News

Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is among the substitutes.

Chelsea (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

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

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

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semi-final of 2004, claimed by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. 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 in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has given Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies traveled to the French south fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League victory over Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road win since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

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

We have a separate live blog for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is on duty for that.