Champions League Matches Tonight: Marseille v Newcastle & More

Greetings to another evening of electrifying Champions League football. 9 fixtures are set for this evening, featuring 3 English clubs in play. The Blues face Barcelona in the standout fixture of the evening, while Newcastle travel to Marseille and City host Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

We're at the halfway point of the league phase, so the standings is starting to take shape. All six English sides are currently in the upper twelve, however there are only 2 points between 5th and 16th position, thus there's a sense of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.

Tonight’s Fixtures

These are tonight’s matches, each starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

• Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
• Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
• Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
• Chelsea v Barcelona
• Villarreal meet Dortmund
• Man City v Leverkusen
• Marseille v Newcastle
• Qarabag play Napoli
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Squad Updates

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Chelsea team. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.

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

The Blues (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.

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

Barça (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semi-final of 2003-04, won by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute goal has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies arrived in the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League win against City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only away win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is distinct from domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible twelve and automatic qualification 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. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Diego Maradona is handling for that.