🔗 Share this article European Cup Matches This Evening: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & More Greetings to a fresh night of thrilling Champions League football. 9 matches are scheduled for tonight, with 3 British clubs in play. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the key match of the evening, while The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen. League Table We're at the midway point of the league phase, meaning the rankings is beginning to form. All six British sides are currently in the upper twelve, however there are only two pts separating 5th and sixteenth place, so there's a whiff of uncertainty about the entire situation. All remains open. This Evening's Games Here are this evening's matches, all starting at 8:00 PM unless stated: Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (17:45) Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm) Juventus face Bodo/Glimt Barcelona take on Chelsea Villarreal meet Dortmund Leverkusen visit Man City Marseille v Newcastle Qarabag play Napoli Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague Squad Updates Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues lineup. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Pedro and Liam Delap. Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barça; Rashford is on the bench. Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho. Substitutes: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Pedro, Hato, George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Buonanotte. Barça (possible 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski. Substitutes: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dro Fernandez, Roony Bardghji. Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia). Previous Encounters The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters. Early Match Updates Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 advantage away to Ajax. Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille Although Newcastle traveled to the French south coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League victory over City on Saturday, and having defeated Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG. It's not that Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the European table, with nine points from a available 12 and direct progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I am not sure if you can compare them.” We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM version of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.