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Greetings to a fresh night of electrifying Champions League football. 9 matches are scheduled for tonight, with three British teams in play. The Blues face Barcelona in the key fixture of the night, while Newcastle travel to Marseille and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the halfway point of the group phase, so the table is beginning to form. Each of the six English teams are presently in the top 12, but there are only 2 pts separating fifth and 16th place, so there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. Everything is to play for.

Match Schedule

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

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

Squad Updates

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues team. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

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

The Blues (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barcelona (probable four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.

Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Vincic (Slovenia).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Europa League semi-final of 2003-04, won by an rising superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Early Match Updates

Just one goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's sixth-minute goal has earned Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 advantage away to the Dutch side.

Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille

Although The Magpies arrived in the French south fresh from their restorative two-one home Premier League victory against City on the weekend, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole on the road victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 pts 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 minute-by-minute equivalent of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.