Welcome to a fresh evening of electrifying European Cup football. Nine matches are set for this evening, with 3 British teams in action. Chelsea face Barcelona in the marquee match of the evening, while The Magpies travel to Marseille and City host Leverkusen.
Current Standings
It's the midway point of the league phase, meaning the table is beginning to form. Each of the six English clubs are presently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts between 5th and sixteenth position, so there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. All remains open.
Match Schedule
Here are tonight’s games, all starting at 8pm except where noted:
- Ajax 0-1 Benfica (17:45)
- Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (5.45pm)
- Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
- Barcelona take on Chelsea
- Villarreal meet Dortmund
- Man City v Leverkusen
- Newcastle travel to Marseille
- Napoli v Qarabag
- Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
Squad Updates
Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues team. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.
Yamal starts for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.
Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Joshua Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barcelona (probable four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Referee Vincic (Slovenia).
Historical Context
The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semifinal of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.
Initial Game Reports
Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at the Dutch side.
Marseille v Newcastle Preview
Even though Newcastle traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League win over Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road win since the start of April came in Brussels at Union SG.
Not that Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose side are sixth in the European table, with 9 pts from a possible twelve and automatic qualification to the last 16 nearly secured. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”
A dedicated live feed is available for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Murray, the minute-by-minute version of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.
