European Cup Matches This Evening: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & Additional Games
Welcome to another evening of exciting Champions League football. Nine fixtures are planned for tonight, including three British teams in action. Chelsea face Barcelona in the key fixture of the night, while Newcastle visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.
Current Standings
We're at the halfway point of the group stage, so the rankings is taking form. Each of the six British sides are currently in the top 12, but there are only two pts between 5th and sixteenth position, thus there's a hint of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. All remains open.
Match Schedule
Here are tonight’s games, all starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:
- Ajax 0-1 Benfica (17:45)
- Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (5.45pm)
- Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
- Chelsea v Barcelona
- Dortmund v Villarreal
- Leverkusen visit Man City
- Marseille v Newcastle
- Napoli v Qarabag
- Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
Squad Updates
Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Blues team. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.
The Blues (possible four-three-three) Robert Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Hato, George, Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barcelona (probable 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Referee Vincic (Slovenian).
Previous Encounters
The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semi-final of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.
Early Match Updates
Only a single goal during the opening period of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead at the Dutch side.
Marseille v Newcastle Preview
Even though The Magpies traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home Premier League win against Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away win since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.
It's not that Howe was overly keen to talk about the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The European Cup is distinct from Premier League games,” said the coach, whose team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a available 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase nearly secured. “I am not sure if you can draw parallels between them.”
A dedicated live feed is available for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.
