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Welcome to another evening of exciting Champions League soccer. 9 matches are set for tonight, including three British teams in action. The Blues face Barcelona in the key fixture of the night, whilst The Magpies travel to Marseille and Manchester City welcome Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the halfway point of the group phase, so the table is taking form. All six British sides are currently in the top 12, but there are only two points between fifth and 16th position, thus there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

Here are tonight’s games, each kicking off at 8pm except where noted:

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

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

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

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

Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Bardghji.

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Past Meetings

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, claimed by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute goal has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil lead away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle arrived in the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League win over City on the weekend, and having defeated Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road win since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the European table, with 9 pts from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “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 version of Maradona is on duty for that.