European Cup Fixtures This Evening: Marseille v Newcastle & More
Greetings to a fresh night of exciting Champions League soccer. 9 matches are planned for tonight, with three British teams in action. The Blues meet Barcelona in the key fixture of the evening, whilst The Magpies travel to Marseille and Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.
League Table
It's the midway stage of the group stage, meaning the table is beginning to form. Each of the six British sides are currently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts separating fifth and sixteenth place, so there's a whiff of volatility about the entire situation. Everything is to play for.
Match Schedule
These are this evening's games, each kicking off at 8pm unless stated:
- Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (17:45)
- Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (17:45)
- Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
- 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, Caicedo, Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues team. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Pedro and Delap.
Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barça; Rashford is among the substitutes.
The Blues (probable 4-3-3) Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.
Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barça (probable 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.
Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Historical Context
The sole past encounter involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semifinal of 2004, claimed by an emerging star from CĂ´te d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.
Initial Game Reports
Just one goal during the opening period of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 lead away to the Dutch side.
Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille
Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home English top-flight win against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole away victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.
Not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the psychological aspect of this away form issue. “The European Cup is distinct from domestic games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with nine points from a possible twelve and automatic progression to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”
A dedicated live feed is available for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.