European Cup Action This Evening: Chelsea v Barcelona & More
Greetings to a fresh evening of electrifying European Cup football. 9 matches are scheduled for this evening, featuring 3 English teams in action. The Blues take on Barcelona in the standout fixture of the night, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen.
Current Standings
It's the midway stage of the group phase, meaning the table is beginning to form. Each of the six British clubs are presently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts separating 5th and 16th position, so there's a sense of uncertainty about the entire situation. All remains open.
This Evening's Games
Here are tonight’s matches, each starting at 8pm except where noted:
- Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
- Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
- Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
- Barcelona take on Chelsea
- Dortmund v Villarreal
- Man City v Leverkusen
- Newcastle travel to Marseille
- Napoli v Qarabag
- Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
Team News
Fofana, Caicedo, Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues lineup. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.
Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barça; Rashford is on the bench.
The Blues (possible 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.
Subs: Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barça (probable four-two-three-one): Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Past Meetings
The sole past encounter involving Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, won by an emerging star from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.
Early Match Updates
Just one goal during the opening period of the early fixtures. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute goal has given Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil lead away to the Dutch side.
Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille
Although The Magpies traveled to the French south fresh from their restorative two-one home English top-flight win over Manchester City on the weekend, and having defeated Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.
Not that Eddie Howe was overly keen to talk about the mental side of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible twelve and direct qualification 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.
