Champions League Matches This Evening: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & Additional Games

Greetings to another evening of exciting Champions League soccer. 9 fixtures are set for this evening, including three British teams in action. Chelsea face Barça in the marquee fixture of the evening, while The Magpies visit the French side and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

Group Rankings

It's the halfway point of the league stage, so the standings is beginning to form. All six British clubs are currently in the top 12, but there are only 2 points separating 5th and 16th position, so there's a hint of volatility about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.

Match Schedule

Here are tonight’s fixtures, each starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:

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

Lineup Changes

Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao join the Blues side. Excluded are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

Chelsea (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barcelona (possible four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

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

Official Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, claimed by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. 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 during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Even though Newcastle arrived in the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League win over Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away win since the start of April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.

Not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the European table, with nine pts from a available 12 and automatic qualification to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is on duty for that.