Champions League Fixtures Tonight: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & Additional Games
Greetings to another night of exciting Champions League soccer. 9 fixtures are set for this evening, including 3 English teams in action. Chelsea take on Barça in the standout match of the night, whilst The Magpies visit the French side and City welcome Bayer Leverkusen.
Current Standings
It's the midway point of the group phase, so the rankings is taking form. All six British teams are presently in the top 12, however there are only 2 pts separating 5th and sixteenth position, thus there's a whiff of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.
Match Schedule
Here are this evening's games, all starting at 8pm except where noted:
- Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
- Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
- Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
- Barcelona take on Chelsea
- Villarreal meet Dortmund
- Leverkusen visit Man City
- Marseille v Newcastle
- Qarabag play Napoli
- Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
Team News
Wesley Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao are included in the Blues side. Dropped are Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Joao Pedro and Delap.
Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.
Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Garnacho.
Substitutes: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Leo George, Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.
Barcelona (probable 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Torres; Robert Lewandowski.
Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Diego Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.
Official Vincic (Slovenia).
Historical Context
The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, won by an emerging star from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have not faced each other previously. Barcelona and Chelsea have some past encounters.
Initial Game Reports
Just one goal in the first half of the two early games. Samuel Dahl's 6th-minute strike has earned Benfica under Mourinho a 1-0 advantage at Ajax.
Marseille v Newcastle Preview
Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France fresh from their confidence-boosting two-one home English top-flight win against Manchester City on the weekend, and having defeated Union SG, the Portuguese side and Bilbao in the European Cup, their sole on the road victory since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.
It's not that Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is distinct from Premier League games,” said the manager, whose side are sixth in the European table, with 9 points from a available twelve and direct qualification to the last 16 almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”
A dedicated live feed is available for Barcelona vs Chelsea. Scott Murray, the MBM equivalent of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.
