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Greetings to another evening of exciting European Cup football. Nine matches are set for tonight, including three British teams in action. Chelsea face Barcelona in the marquee fixture of the night, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the midway point of the league phase, meaning the standings is taking form. Each of the six British clubs are currently in the top 12, but there are only 2 pts separating fifth and 16th place, thus there's a whiff of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

These are this evening's games, all starting at 8pm unless stated:

• Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (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
• Napoli v Qarabag
• Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Team News

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

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

The Blues (possible four-three-three) Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Liam Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Buonanotte.

Barcelona (possible four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.

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

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, won by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

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

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Even though Newcastle arrived in the south of France coming off their restorative 2-1 home Premier League victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their only away win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a available 12 and automatic qualification to the last 16 nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.