European Cup Action Tonight: Chelsea v Barcelona & More
Welcome to another night of electrifying European Cup football. 9 games are set for tonight, featuring three British teams in play. The Blues meet Barça in the key match of the evening, while The Magpies visit Marseille and City host Bayer Leverkusen.
League Table
We're at the halfway point of the league stage, so the rankings is starting to take shape. Each of the six British sides are currently in the upper twelve, however there are only two pts separating fifth and sixteenth place, so there's a sense of uncertainty about the entire situation. All remains open.
Tonight’s Fixtures
Here are tonight’s fixtures, all kicking off at 8:00 PM unless stated:
- Benfica lead Ajax 1-0 (5.45pm)
- Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (5.45pm)
- Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
- Chelsea v Barcelona
- Villarreal meet Dortmund
- Leverkusen visit Man City
- Newcastle travel to Marseille
- Napoli v Qarabag
- Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
Lineup Changes
Fofana, Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao all come into the Blues team. Out go Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
Yamal starts for Barcelona; Rashford is among the substitutes.
Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Pedro, Hato, Leo George, Joshua Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte.
Barça (possible 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Bardghji.
Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Historical Context
The only previous meeting between Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2004, claimed by an emerging superstar from Côte d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have some past encounters.
Initial Game Reports
Just one goal in the first half of the two early games. Dahl's 6th-minute strike has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 1-0 advantage away to Ajax.
Marseille v Newcastle Preview
Although Newcastle traveled to the south of France fresh from their restorative 2-1 home English top-flight victory against Manchester City on the weekend, and having beaten Union SG, the Portuguese side and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road win since the start of April came in the Belgian capital at Union SG.
It's not that Howe was eager to talk about the mental side of this away form issue. “The Champions League is different to domestic games,” said the coach, whose team are sixth in the European table, with nine pts from a possible 12 and direct 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. Murray, the minute-by-minute equivalent of Maradona is handling for that.
