Champions League Fixtures This Evening: Marseille v Newcastle & Additional Games
Welcome to a fresh night of exciting Champions League soccer. Nine games are set for tonight, including 3 English teams in action. The Blues meet Barça in the marquee match of the night, while The Magpies visit the French side and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.
Group Rankings
We're at the midway point of the league stage, meaning the table is starting to take shape. All six English teams are presently in the top 12, however there are only two points separating fifth and sixteenth position, thus there's a sense of volatility about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.
This Evening's Games
These are tonight’s matches, all starting at 8pm except where noted:
- Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
- Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (17:45)
- Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
- Barcelona take on Chelsea
- Villarreal meet Dortmund
- Man City v Leverkusen
- Marseille v Newcastle
- Napoli v Qarabag
- Athletic Bilbao clash with Slavia Prague
Squad Updates
Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues team. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.
Yamal starts for Barça; Rashford is among the substitutes.
Chelsea (possible four-three-three) Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.
Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barça (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Previous Encounters
The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, claimed by an emerging superstar from Ivory Coast. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.
Initial Game Reports
Just one goal during the opening period of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's sixth-minute goal has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead at Ajax.
Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille
Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League victory against City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road victory since early April came in Brussels at Union Saint-Gilloise.
Not that Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are 6th in the European table, with nine pts from a possible twelve and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can compare them.”
A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.
