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Welcome to another night of exciting Champions League football. 9 fixtures are set for tonight, with 3 British teams in play. The Blues take on Barcelona in the marquee match of the night, while The Magpies visit the French side and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

Current Standings

It's the halfway stage of the group phase, meaning the table is taking form. Each of the six British teams are currently in the top 12, however there are only two points between 5th and sixteenth position, so there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

Here are this evening's games, each starting at 8pm unless stated:

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

Lineup Changes

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

Yamal starts for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

Chelsea (probable four-three-three) Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.

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

Barça (probable 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, won by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have a peedie bit of history.

Initial Game Reports

Only a single goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's sixth-minute sizzler has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 lead away to Ajax.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle traveled to the French south fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home English top-flight win over City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.

Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a possible 12 and direct qualification to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”

We have a separate live blog for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.