Welcome to another night of thrilling European Cup soccer. 9 games are set for this evening, with 3 English clubs in play. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the standout match of the evening, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.
League Table
We're at the halfway point of the group phase, meaning the standings is beginning to form. Each of the six English sides are presently in the upper twelve, but there are only two pts between fifth and 16th place, so there's a sense of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.
This Evening's Games
These are this evening's games, all kicking off at 8pm except where noted:
- Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
- Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (5.45pm)
- Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
- Barcelona take on Chelsea
- Dortmund v Villarreal
- Leverkusen visit Man City
- Marseille v Newcastle
- Napoli v Qarabag
- Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague
Team News
Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues team. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Delap.
Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.
The Blues (probable four-three-three) Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.
Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barça (possible four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.
Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).
Previous Encounters
The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, won by an rising 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 in the first half of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at Ajax.
Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille
Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative two-one home English top-flight win over Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their only on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.
Not that Howe was eager to talk about the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are 6th in the European table, with 9 points from a available twelve and automatic qualification to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”
We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM version of Maradona is handling for that.
