Champions League Matches This Evening: Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen & More

Welcome to a fresh evening of thrilling Champions League soccer. Nine fixtures are scheduled for tonight, with 3 English teams in play. Chelsea face Barcelona in the standout fixture of the night, whilst The Magpies visit Marseille and Manchester City host Leverkusen.

League Table

It's the halfway point of the league stage, meaning the standings is beginning to form. All six English sides are currently in the upper twelve, but there are only two pts between 5th and 16th position, thus there's a hint of uncertainty about the whole thing. All remains open.

This Evening's Games

These are this evening's games, each starting at 8pm except where noted:

  • Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
  • Union SG and Galatasaray level at 0-0 (17:45)
  • Juventus face Bodo/Glimt
  • Barcelona take on Chelsea
  • Dortmund v Villarreal
  • Leverkusen visit Man City
  • Marseille v Newcastle
  • Napoli v Qarabag
  • Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao

Squad Updates

Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Gusto and Estevao join the Blues team. Dropped are Tosin Adarabioyo, Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

Lamine Yamal is in the starting lineup for Barcelona; Rashford is on the bench.

Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Alejandro Garnacho.

Subs: Kjell Scherpen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Andrey Santos, Pedro, Hato, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Facundo Buonanotte.

Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1): Garcia; Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski.

Subs: Wojciech Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Christensen, Marc Casado, Gerard, Dani Olmo, Noah Darvich, Dario Fernandez, Roony Bardghji.

Official Slavko Vincic (Slovenian).

Previous Encounters

The only previous meeting involving Newcastle and Marseille was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, claimed by an emerging superstar from CĂ´te d'Ivoire. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Barcelona and Chelsea have a notable history.

Initial Game Reports

Just one goal in the first half of the early fixtures. Dahl's 6th-minute goal has earned Benfica under Mourinho a one-nil advantage away to the Dutch side.

Marseille v Newcastle Preview

Although The Magpies traveled to the south of France coming off their confidence-boosting two-one home English top-flight win against Manchester City on Saturday, and having defeated Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Bilbao in the Champions League, their only on the road win since early April came in the Belgian capital at Union Saint-Gilloise.

It's 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 coach, whose side are 6th in the Champions League standings, with nine pts from a possible twelve and direct progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “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 handling for that.
Melissa Casey
Melissa Casey

Mira is a seasoned gaming strategist and content creator, passionate about helping players maximize their in-game performance and achievements.