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Welcome to a fresh night of thrilling Champions League soccer. Nine games are scheduled for tonight, featuring three English teams in action. Chelsea take on Barcelona in the standout match of the evening, whilst Newcastle visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

We're at the halfway stage of the group phase, so the table is taking form. All six British teams are currently in the top 12, but there are only two pts separating 5th and 16th position, thus there's a sense of volatility about the entire situation. All remains open.

Match Schedule

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

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

Lineup Changes

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Excluded are Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.

Chelsea (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.

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

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

Substitutes: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semi-final of 2003-04, claimed by an rising superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

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

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting 2-1 home Premier League victory against City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away win since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a possible 12 and direct progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”

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