Champions League Fixtures This Evening: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & More
Greetings to a fresh evening of exciting European Cup soccer. Nine fixtures are set for this evening, with 3 English clubs in action. Chelsea face Barcelona in the marquee match of the evening, whilst Newcastle visit Marseille and City welcome Leverkusen.
Group Rankings
It's the halfway point of the league stage, meaning the standings is taking form. Each of the six British sides are presently in the top 12, but there are only 2 pts separating 5th and 16th position, so there's a sense of volatility about the entire situation. It’s all up for grabs.
Match Schedule
These are tonight’s fixtures, each starting at 8:00 PM except where noted:
- Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
- Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
- Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
- Chelsea v Barcelona
- Villarreal meet Dortmund
- Leverkusen visit Man City
- Newcastle travel to Marseille
- Qarabag play Napoli
- Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
Squad Updates
Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.
Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is among the substitutes.
The Blues (possible four-three-three) Sanchez; James, Wesley Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.
Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, George, Joshua Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Buonanotte.
Barça (probable four-two-three-one): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Garcia, Frenkie de Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.
Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Past Meetings
The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Europa League semi-final of 2004, claimed by an emerging superstar from CĂ´te d'Ivoire. Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City have not faced each other previously. Chelsea and Barcelona have a notable history.
Early Match Updates
Just one goal in the first half of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute sizzler has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 lead away to Ajax.
Newcastle’s Trip to Marseille
Although The Magpies traveled to the French south coming off their restorative 2-1 home English top-flight victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having defeated Union SG, Benfica and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road victory since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.
It's not that Eddie Howe was eager to discuss the mental side of this away form issue. “The European Cup is different to Premier League games,” said the manager, whose team are sixth in the Champions League standings, with 9 points from a available 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can draw parallels between them.”
We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Maradona is on duty for that.
