Ryan Hardie took his Championship goal tally to six as Plymouth kept bottom-placed Sheffield Wednesday winless with a 3-0 victory at Home Park.

Mustapha Bundu and Morgan Whittaker scored within a four-minute spell at the end of the first half to put Argyle 2-0 up and 70th-minute substitute Hardie added the gloss.

Winless Wednesday have now lost 10 of their opening 13 league games, with their new boss Danny Rohl suffering back-to-back defeats.

Whittaker came closest to putting Argyle ahead in the eighth minute when his delightful curling chip from outside the box from the right came back off the far post, having beaten diving keeper Cameron Dawson.

Wednesday responded well and should have scored when Josh Windass sent Anthony Musaba away down the right wing with a defence-splitting pass in the 27th minute.

Musaba raced into the Argyle penalty area and sent a thumping cross across the six-yard box but none of the Wednesday strikers could add a finishing touch.

Musaba’s next cross into the box, again from the right, was met by striker Lee Gregory, whose first time 31st-minute strike flew over, before Windass let fly with a 25-yard free-kick which fit-again keeper Michael Cooper took into his midriff.

Argyle countered with Bundu putting Whittaker in on goal. The Argyle playmaker was fouled just outside the area by Dominic Iorfa. From the free-kick Bundu let fly with an unstoppable shot that gave Dawson no chance as it flew into the top corner off the underside of the bar after 44 minutes.

Four minutes later Whittaker doubled Argyle’s advantage latching on to a back pass from Wednesday defender Pol Valentin before driving forward and then calmly slotting past stranded Dawson.

Argyle started the second half much as they had finished the first, on the front foot, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden teeing up Finn Azaz, whose shot on the run was well saved by Dawson in the 53rd minute.

From the corner the ball was passed to Whittaker, whose shot from outside the box flew just over.

At the other end Cooper did well to save from Windass, from the left hand-side of the penalty area, following a superb pass from Wednesday’s midfield lynchpin Barry Bannan.

As Argyle grew in confidence, Azaz let fly from distance, hitting a bouncing ball on the rise and producing another good save from Dawson.

Azaz was again denied by Dawson in the 67th minute as he tried to place the ball past the keeper, who made a superb one-handed stop, diving to his left to keep out the goal-bound shot.

Argyle surged further ahead following a lightning counter with Azaz drawing defenders before sliding a pass to Hardie, who finished with a low, first-time strike from just inside the box after 76 minutes.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Wednesday that Brock Purdy has entered the NFL's concussion protocol, putting the team's starting quarterback's status for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals in question.

Shanahan said Purdy began to experience symptoms on the team's flight home from Monday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. The second-year pro played every snap of the 49ers' 22-17 loss.

"We found that out when we landed, we were all pretty asleep," Shanahan told reporters. "He got all checked up (Tuesday) and now he's in the protocol."

Veteran Sam Darnold ran the first-team offence in Wednesday's practice and would start Sunday if Purdy doesn't receive medical clearance. Shanahan said Purdy's availability will be determined later in the week.

"He does have enough time [to clear protocol], he just has to go through the process," Shanahan said.

Purdy, the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft, won his first 10 NFL regular-season starts dating back to his rookie year, but has lost his last two and struggled in both games. The 23-year-old completed just 12 of 27 passes for 125 yards in San Francisco's 19-17 loss at Cleveland in Week 6, then was intercepted twice against Minnesota.

The Iowa State product posted a 123.1 passer rating with nine touchdowns and no interceptions over the course of the 49ers' 5-0 start to this season.

Darnold started six games for the Carolina Panthers last season and went 4-2 in those games while throwing for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. The 2018 No. 3 overall draft pick signed a one-year contract with the 49ers in March and won the No. 2 quarterback job from another former No. 3 overall pick, Trey Lance, during the preseason.

The 49ers subsequently traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys shortly before the start of the season. 

A fine second-half performance saw Rotherham earn just their second victory of the Championship season as they beat Coventry 2-0.

Lee Peltier glanced in shortly after the interval and then Ollie Rathbone lashed home in stoppage time to give the depleted Millers’ season a much-needed shot in the arm.

This was one of their best performances of the campaign and it sees them cut the gap to safety to five points with a game in hand.

Coventry had chances to get back into the game when they were trailing 1-0, but their inconsistent start to the season continues.

The Sky Blues made an assured start and almost took a 13th-minute lead when Kyle McFadzean found Ellis Simms in space 12 yards out, but his instinctive first-time shot was well saved by Sweden goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

The Millers settled down and also had a fine chance to go ahead seven minutes later.

Cafu played Jordan Hugill in down the left and his cross was perfect for Fred Onyedinma at the near post and the net seemed destined to bulge, but the on-loan Luton man planted his header wide.

Neither side could get a grip on the match as promising positions for both were let down by poor final passes.

The second half immediately brought more entertainment as the Millers went ahead in the 51st minute.

Cafu whipped in a delicious corner to the near post and Peltier sent a glancing header into the far corner.

Coventry’s response was strong and they created a raft of chances to equalise.

Simms had a fine double opportunity as he met Jay Dasilva’s cross with a powering head that saw Johansson pull off a miraculous one-handed save, with the Everton loanee firing the rebound into the side netting.

Ben Sheaf then forced Johansson into another save with a shot from distance before Matt Godden could not make sufficient contact with a cross when the goal was gaping.

The game was suddenly alive and Rotherham had two great chances of their own to extend their lead.

First, Seb Revan’s cross fell to Rathbone and he looked primed to score but Ben Wilson got down to make a fine stop and then Hugill sent a header against the post from Dexter Lembikisa’s cross.

The Millers kept on pushing as Christ Tiehi sent a looping header just wide, Onyedinma shot straight at Wilson when through on goal and then the Sky Blues goalkeeper made a flying save to keep out Rathbone’s vicious strike.

Milan van Ewijk had a shot blocked and then Tatsuhiro Sakamoto put a glancing header inches wide as Coventry pushed for an equaliser.

But Rotherham deservedly made the game safe in the third minute of added time when Rathbone lashed home Georgie Kelly’s knockdown.

LeBron James may have lost some explosiveness due to his injury struggles, but Andre Drummond believes the NBA's all-time leading scorer is as good as ever and can excel again this season.

James and the Los Angeles Lakers began their 2023-24 campaign with a defeat on Tuesday, with the Denver Nuggets opening their first-ever NBA title defence with a 119-107 win.

The four-time NBA MVP scored a team-high 21 points while shooting 10-of-16, also adding five assists and eight rebounds, but his limited time on court was the major talking point after the game.

James played just 29 minutes in Los Angeles' 2023-24 opener, with the team looking to manage his workload over the coming weeks after he missed 27 games with a foot injury last season.

With James into his 21st season in the league, Drummond – who played alongside the 38-year-old during a brief spell with the Lakers in 2021 – says his game may have changed, but not necessarily for the worse.

Asked what fans should expect from James this season, Drummond told Stats Perform: "Well, if he's anything like he's been the past couple of years, I guess the same thing.

"He's still averaging 25 points, still playing 30-plus minutes, and it looks like he hasn't slowed down. Well, I feel like he's lost a step, but he's still him, he's still him at the end of the day. 

"He's still the same player, he's still able to be aggressive and get to the basket. 

"Is he dunking over people all the time as he used to? No. But is he playing smarter now? Yeah, I think he's still just as good.

"LeBron James has been special for the NBA from the first day he came in, the amount of things that he's done for the community, not only just for basketball, but for his community and for every city he's been in… you have to respect the guy that does that."

Reflecting on his time as a team-mate of LeBron's, Drummond said the opportunity to see how the four-time NBA Champion prepared for games was invaluable.

"He's somebody I got a chance to play alongside, so to have that opportunity to see his greatness up close is something I didn't take for granted," Drummond said.

"It puts a lot in perspective, because when you see this guy do the things he does in games, you're like, 'I wonder what he does when he's not playing'. 

"I always talk about preparation with guys and his preparation, what he does and how he takes care of his body, how hard he works each and every day, really shows why he's one of the best players to step on this court.

"I just have a lot of respect for him. It was an honour for me to be alongside him and see him be him. I wish we got more time together, but it was definitely excellent playing alongside him.

"I asked him what he does with his body because I'm in year 12 now, and obviously your body starts to break down, you start feeling it more when you get hurt, it lasts a little bit longer. 

"I've been blessed to not be hurt severely. I've had bumps and bruises but nothing crazy. 

"I definitely asked him what he does when he's not playing, how he takes care of his body and some of the things he does to keep himself engaged when he's not on the court."

James is the oldest player in the NBA. The Lakers star will now have his eye on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for the highest scoring average managed by the league's oldest player in any season (23.4 points in 1985-86, when Abdul-Jabbar turned 39).

While 30-year-old center Drummond clearly respects James' longevity, he will only continue his own career for as long as he feels able to make a valuable contribution.

"Playing as long as I have now is a blessing," Drummond added.

"I feel like I'm going to play as long as I can, until I just feel like I don't need to anymore, or I'm not as serviceable. 

"I don't want to be someone that isn't playing, I have a family that I would rather hang out with than sit on the bench. I'll play until I'm not playing any more, or I'm not being played any more."

David Moyes has urged West Ham and Olympiacos supporters to behave themselves when the teams meet in Greece in the Europa League.

Tensions are high in Athens after Olympiacos’ league match with rivals Panathinaikos on Sunday had to be abandoned after an opposition player was hit by a firecracker.

Olympiacos have subsequently issued a warning to their supporters against throwing missiles and using laser pointers, which has become big problem in Greek football.

Meanwhile, West Ham fans were banned from their last European outing in Freiburg due to missile throwing during the Europa Conference League final victory over Fiorentina in June.

Hammers boss Moyes said at his pre-match press conference: “They’ve got great support here, fantastic enthusiasm, and it’s fantastic to come to a football city where the football really matters.

“You want the passion and the atmosphere but we also want good behaviour from our supporters and Olympiacos supporters.

“It’s a big game, but it’s important that everyone works together and end up having a good night.

“I think all we want is a good football game. You have to support your team well. You’re not doing your club any favours if you’re getting stadium bans or your team is getting thrown out of Europe.

“You have to be well behaved and we want the supporters to be that.”

Thursday’s match gives West Ham the chance to bounce back from Sunday’s painful 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

Greek defender Dinos Mavropanos said: “For the game against Aston Villa, it was a bad day against a good team.

“But our schedule is really busy so we needed to learn from it and start to focus on this game. We’ve been doing that. We’re here, we’ve worked hard and we’re looking forward to the match.”

Vladimir Coufal has not travelled due to a knock but fellow full-backs Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell are back in the squad after spells out.

David Moyes paid a warm tribute to “wonderful man” Bill Kenwright following the death of his former chairman at Everton.

Everton announced on Tuesday that Kenwright had died aged 78 following a battle with cancer.

Moyes and Kenwright formed a close bond during the Scot’s 11-year spell as manager at Goodison Park between 2002 and 2013.

“It’s incredibly sad news,” Moyes said at his pre-match press conference ahead of West Ham’s Europa League clash with Olympiacos.

“He was a wonderful man, he gave me a big opportunity in my career, taking me when I was a young manager in the lower leagues and gave me a job in the Premier League.

“Brilliantly supportive. I couldn’t have had a better chairman, as a young coach.

“When I look at modern football nowadays, how difficult it is for any young managers to make their way, Bill Kenwright was great to work with.

“We had great times over 11 years with him and we had some successful moments together. He’ll be sadly missed.”

On Wednesday morning current manager Sean Dyche and club captain Seamus Coleman laid flowers at the statue of Dixie Dean outside Goodison Park, where the Everton squad were holding a training session.

All players and staff observed a minute’s silence before the session and Kenwright’s image was shown on the stadium’s screens.

In a statement on the club website, Dyche said: “It’s a very sad time for everyone at Everton Football Club to lose our chairman, someone who has been such an amazing servant to the club in so many ways.

“His influence in bringing me to Everton in the first place was important and I have nothing but gratitude and respect for his unwavering support of myself, the staff and our players.

“It was a pleasure to share the moment of reaching our objective last season with him – a moment I know he felt so strongly about after such an arduous season, on and off the pitch…

“He was an incredible professional, in terms of what he did with Everton and also what he achieved in the theatre industry. Spending time with him and learning about his family, you couldn’t help but be taken by his passion.”

Dyche was told of the news midway through Tuesday’s training and called an immediate halt to the session as players and staff paid their respects.

Kenwright, who succeeded Sir Phillip Carter as chairman in 2004 after first joining the board at Goodison Park in 1989, had a cancerous tumour removed from his liver in August.

Liverpool-born Kenwright was a successful theatre and film producer when asked to join the Everton board in 1989.

He bought a majority 68 per cent stake in the club in 1999 and became deputy chairman before replacing Carter in his current role.

Dyche added: “Beyond his deep love of his family, one of those big passions, of course, was football – the game as a whole, as well as his obvious lasting love of Everton.

“His story – a boyhood supporter who went on to become chairman – is something so rare in the modern game, especially at the top level.

“He always believed in Everton and stood by the club, even in the toughest times. He was steadfast until the very end.

“Like so many who knew him, my heart and my thoughts are with his family at this extremely sad time.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp used his press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash against Toulouse to add his own tribute to Kenwright, adding to that issued by his club on Tuesday.

“The thing that I read recently, obviously, (he had) a massive heart for the city and a massive heart for Everton,” Klopp said.

“But the message he gave around the Hillsborough speech he held that time, I heard about: ‘They chose the wrong city and chose the wrong mums’. That’s a really strong message.

“With all of the rivalry with Everton, especially around the games, I don’t think we have any issues with each other left or right of games. This just shows how united we are in these moments, and that’s really big. He found the right words for it. My condolences to the family. I hope they are OK.”

Thousands of Celtic supporters defied the club and displayed Palestine flags ahead of their Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.

A tifo display in the colours of the Palestine flag was evident in the lower half of the standing section well before kick-off and about two dozen sizeable flags were flown in the adjacent section before the teams emerged.

Thousands of smaller flags were evident around the ground when the teams came out.

The displays will inevitably lead to UEFA disciplinary action against Celtic, given the European governing body has already fined the club for fans flying Palestine flags on previous occasions.

The club issued a plea to supporters earlier on Wednesday after the Green Brigade fans’ group encouraged supporters to “courageously fly the flag for Palestine” amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East that has claimed thousands of lives.

“We have witnessed death, violence and destruction in the Holy Land in recent weeks, with thousands of people – men, women and children – killed, injured and displaced,” read Celtic’s statement.

“We are witnessing a tragedy of horrendous scale. As it continues, everyone at Celtic prays for all who have been affected.

“We also hope and pray for peace and for humanitarian support to reach those who are in need and in fear.

“Many of our colleagues, supporters, friends and families have been affected by these events.

“Against this backdrop of conflict and pain, sport can promote peace and demonstrate humanity and empathy for all who continue to suffer.”

Celtic added that players and coaches would wear black armbands as a “show of respect and support for all those affected by the conflict” and the club would make a contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross to “support people affected by the humanitarian crisis in the region”.

The statement added: “The club recognises that our supporters hold personal views to which everyone is entitled. As a club open to all, we all belong at Celtic Park.

“Celtic Park is where we come to support our football club. Recognising this, respecting the gravity of the tragedy unfolding and its impact on communities in Scotland and across the world, and in line with other clubs, leagues and associations, we ask that banners, flags and symbols relating to the conflict and those countries involved in it are not displayed at Celtic Park at this time.”

The Green Brigade, which is currently suspended from getting away tickets by the club, in the wake of incidents at Motherwell and Feyenoord, had earlier announced plans to distribute thousands of flags outside the stadium.

“While it would be easier to distribute flags inside, we are prohibited from bringing the flags into the stadium,” a statement read.

“We respect the right of all fans who wish not to participate in such an action, however equally we ask that the same respect and freedom is afforded to all fans who do.”

In 2016, the Green Brigade raised more than £130,000 in an online fundraising campaign after Celtic were fined nearly £9,000 by UEFA due to fans flying Palestine flags during their 5-2 Champions League victory against Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva in Glasgow.

The money went to medical aid for Palestinians and projects in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, where a football academy was set up bearing the name of Celtic.

Group H leaders Barcelona moved a step closer to reaching the Champions League knockout stages after a 2-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Barca made it three wins from as many matches through goals from Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez before they held on in the second half after Heorhiy Sudakov’s 62nd-minute strike.

Xavi’s men produced moments of quality with a rotated side ahead of Saturday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid at Nou Camp in LaLiga.

Barca nearly had a dream start after seven minutes. Oriol Romeu’s high press forced the turnover in Shakhtar’s box which allowed Lopez to jink inside and shoot, but the midfielder’s effort was kept out by Dmytro Riznyk.

Barca’s persistence paid off when they opened the scoring in the 28th minute through Torres.

Lopez picked up another dangerous position inside the box and his effort cannoned off the post into the path of Torres who smashed home.

VAR initially deemed the goal offside but the ruling was overturned after Lopez held his run long enough.

And the potent Lopez doubled Barca’s lead in the 36th minute in spectacular fashion.

The La Masia youth product marauded into the open space from midfield, beat his man with a feint before producing a rocket on his right foot which saw the ball smash off the post into the back of the net.

The goal, which was Lopez’s second of the season, was completely deserved after the 20-year-old dazzled in the first half under the lights at Nou Camp.

The LaLiga champions started where they left off in the second half and came close through Joao Felix, who was denied by Riznyk from a tight angle.

The visitors persisted in their plan of playing out from the back which encouraged blue and red shirts to swarm them in possession as they struggled to deal with the relentless Barca press.

But Shakhtar stunned Xavi’s men when they struck against the run of play to make it 2-1.

Felix lost possession and Shakhtar advanced into the Barca half through Irakli Azarovi who picked out the rapid Sudakov and he ghosted past Romeu and held his nerve with a blasted effort past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Moments after Lopez hit the post in the 68th minute, his headed effort was ruled offside as Barca tried for a third.

The Cleveland Browns have ruled out quarterback Deshaun Watson for Sunday's game at the Seattle Seahawks due to a lingering injury to his right shoulder.

Watson missed Cleveland's 28-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, and he remained on the sidelines for a 19-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 after the Browns’ bye.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection returned last week but was removed from the game after taking a big hit in the first quarter of Cleveland’s 39-38 victory at the Indianapolis Colts.

P.J. Walker will start for Cleveland this weekend at Seattle in a matchup of 4-2 teams.

Walker was activated from the practice squad to start against San Francisco and took over last week in Indianapolis after Watson exited.

He has completed 33 of 66 passes for 370 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

LeBron James understands the Los Angeles Lakers' plan to manage his time on court in the coming weeks, with head coach Darvin Ham hoping it gets the best out of the four-time NBA MVP.

James played just 29 minutes as the Lakers opened their 2023-24 campaign with a 119-107 defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, with Nikola Jokic recording his 106th career triple-double for the reigning NBA champions.

Four-time NBA champion James added five assists to his team-high 21 points, but he saw his gametime limited despite the Lakers remaining competitive until late on, cutting Denver's lead to three points in the fourth quarter.

The 38-year-old averaged 35.5 minutes per game last season, his second-highest figure in five years with the Lakers, though that appeared to take its toll as he missed 27 games with a right foot injury.

James has missed a total of 111 games since joining the Lakers in 2018, most of them due to injury. While the NBA's all-time leading scorer always wants to be involved, he understands the benefits of managing his workload.

"Listen, I always want to be on the floor, especially when you've got an opportunity to win a game or you feel like you can make an impact," James said after Tuesday's defeat.

"But this is the system in place, and I'm going to follow it."

Asked whether he was surprised by his limited time on court, James clarified: "No, I'm not surprised. I talked to the coach and we had a game plan going into Game 1. I'm not surprised or upset."

With James approaching his 39th birthday and the likes of Anthony Davis, D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura providing the Lakers with depth, coach Ham says fans should expect more of the game.

"It's easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game, and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches," Ham said of James.

"But in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are.

"It's going to be a day-by-day process, gauging how he's feeling, getting communication from him, our training staff, our medical staff."

Despite the defeat, James was satisfied with aspects of his own performance and does not believe he needs to adjust his game to the new role.

"Besides the fact that we didn't win, I think my performance and what I did individually in the time that I was out there… I think I was productive," James said.

"I mean, I was a plus-7 for the game. No turnovers. I like the no turnovers more than anything."

The Lakers are back in action on Thursday, with the Phoenix Suns visiting Crypto.com Arena.

Philippe Clement believes immediate improvement is required from Rangers for their Europa League clash with Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

The Belgian began his tenure as Light Blues boss with a convincing 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday.

Clement was pleased enough with the first performance of his new team but will be looking for more in the Czech Republic as Rangers look to get back on the European track following the 2-1 loss to Aris Limassol earlier in the month.

The shock defeat in Cyprus negated a fine 1-0 home win over Spanish side Real Betis, with all four Group C sides on three points going into matchday three.

The Gers manager – without a natural left-back as Borna Barisic and Dujon Sterling are injured and Ridvan Yilmaz is not in the European squad – said: “We need to show a better level than on Saturday because this is a better team.

“They are really good on the ball, good quality players, good structure, good coach, and they are at home which is also different.

“So the whole team needs to be on their toes but I saw good signals in the last two days in training that everybody is up for a great European evening and you know in those evenings you need to be very focused, very concentrated and you need to take your moments.”

The former Belgium defender recalled a good night from two decades ago when he entered the Letna Stadium following the journey from Scotland.

A 1-0 win for the Red Devils in the 2002 World Cup finals play-off against the Czech Republic on November 14, 2001 booked Belgium’s place in South Korea and Japan with a 2-0 aggregate victory.

Asked about his wide European experience while at Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco, Clement said: “It is good to have experience and to know what are the important things in these evenings.

“It is also evenings I like and love, all the vibe around European games, different places, different stadiums.

“And I also had a really good feeling when I went on to the pitch .

“I said to Todd Cantwell when I came in the stadium I recognised the stadium because more than 20 years ago we qualified here with Belgium for the 2002 World Cup, so evenings like that are special.”

Clement, who played with Sparta Prague boss Brian Priske at Club Brugge, will have dig into his squad to plug the hole at left-back.

Barisic went off injured after 10 minutes against Hibs to be replaced by Yilmaz, left out of the European squad by former boss Michael Beale, and with Sterling also injured, right-back Adam Devine or centre-back Ben Davies may be called upon to do a job for the Govan side.

Clement was keeping his cards close to his chest but said: “I look for solutions and it will be another player who will not play in his normal position, to fill that position and do the job for the team.

“You can keep on being negative but someone needs to step in and help the team.

“We hope to get Borna back towards the weekend or at least next week. It is not really a big one but the timing is really bad because Ridvan is not on the list, a decision made before my time so I can’t do anything about that. Dujon is injured also a lot of things have come together.”

Auguste Rodin and his old rival King Of Steel could lock horns once again as both feature among the pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

Aidan O’Brien’s colt came on top when they clashed at Epsom in the summer, wearing down Roger Varian’s charge deep inside the final furlong and was then much the best when claiming the Irish Champion Stakes in September.

King Of Steel finished well to be fourth on that occasion, and would head to California with confidence sky high having carried Frankie Dettori to a fairytale success on British Champions Day.

Plenty of familiar names could feature in the Turf, with Royal Ascot and Juddmonte International champion Mostahdaf set to represent John and Thady Gosden and Donnacha O’Brien’s Piz Badile joining Ballydoyle’s Bolshoi Ballet and Broome.

The Amo Racing-owned King Of Steel also has the Classic as a second preference, a race won last year by the all-conquering Flightline and this year could see a match-up between Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo and Kentucky Derby hero Mage.

Paddington has been given the option of ending his stellar 2023 campaign in the Mile, where he could meet Saeed bin Suroor’s 1000 Guineas and recent Keeneland scorer Mawj.

She is one of two for Godolphin alongside Master Of The Seas who will bid to give Charlie Appleby his third straight success in the race.

High-class duo Inspiral and Warm Heart will lead the raiding contingent in the Filly & Mare Turf with both operating at the peak of their powers this season, while Simon and Ed Crisford’s Dubai World Cup runner-up Algiers is the sole British challenger in the Dirt Mile.

Brad Cox’s Caravel held off the British raiders in the Turf Sprint 12 months ago and has the likes of Adam West’s Nunthorpe hero Live In The Dream and King’s Stand Stakes winner Bradsell to take on this time.

Michael Appleby’s Big Evs will carry British hopes on the opening night of action when he looks to round off a brilliant juvenile campaign in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Moeen Ali is planning to bring the fun factor back to England’s World Cup campaign after realising the defending champions have “lost the enjoyment” in India.

Moeen is set to return to the side for Thursday’s must-win match against Sri Lanka after being confined to drinks duties for the past three games, during which time things have gone from bad to worse for the 2019 winners.

Despite being left on the sidelines, Moeen remains the squad’s designated vice-captain and has watched and learned from crushing defeats to Afghanistan and South Africa that have left ninth-placed England with the narrowest of paths to the semi-finals.

His conclusions are clear: the team have become too anxious, too rigid and too fearful. The smiles have gone and the 36-year-old has made it his mission to bring them back at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, once his IPL home with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“When you sit out sometimes, you can see things that you don’t see when you’re playing,” he said.

“You can see from the outside that we’ve probably lost the enjoyment. We haven’t enjoyed it as a team as much, because we’ve been losing and we’re not playing that well.

“That spark is missing, that thing where they’re enjoying taking bowlers down, enjoying going out to bat.

“I think we’re probably taking it too seriously in certain ways. I think sometimes we can probably get a bit anxious. It’s almost having that carefree kind of attitude – ‘Who cares? It’s a game of cricket’.

“You’re going to make mistakes, you might as well make them doing what you’re good at. We’re making mistakes anyway, so let’s do it with a smile on your face.

“If I get my chance, I’m going to use all that intent that I have. Take it on. I’m going to take the situation out a lot of the time and just enjoy it as much as I can.”

Moeen has been stung by his extended absence from the XI, which sits at odds with his role as a key sounding board for captain Jos Buttler and his calming influence on the field has been a loss.

“Speaking to a few of the players, they’ve certainly said that they’re miss having me at mid-off or whatever,” said Moeen.

“I think I can try and hopefully bring a bit of help maybe for Jos, being at mid-off a lot of the time with the bowlers, because it’s not always that easy for a wicketkeeper to communicate.

“It’s hard for me to say. That’s the hardest bit…when Jos asks me what I think of the side and I don’t put myself in or if I do put myself in. You try and do what’s best for the team as much as you can.”

The man plotting England’s downfall this time around is Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood, a man who once thought he would be leading their title defence.

Silverwood was England’s fast bowling coach they won the tournament in 2019 and stepped into the top job soon after when he was chosen to succeed Trevor Bayliss.

But his reign came to an ignominious end when he was sacked after the 2021/22 Ashes debacle, with England subsequently opting to split the job between red and white-ball specialists.

England have already been bested by one of their own in India, with former batter Jonathan Trott guiding Afghanistan to a shock win in Delhi, and are aware of the extra layer of intrigue created by Silverwood’s appearance in the opposition dugout.

“I’m sure he’s got that motivation to do well in this game, definitely,” said Moeen.

“They’ve only won once, so they’ll want to get on a winning run as well and he’ll be thinking more about that and his own team.

“But I’m sure deep down, like everybody else, he’ll be trying to prove a point or whatever it is and that will motivate him a little bit more.

“He’s a good coach and a nice guy, and I enjoyed (working with) him. But he’s not the one going out to bat and bowl, it’s his team. He’ll be trying to get them ready.”

England radically altered the balance of their side against the Proteas, banishing their core of all-rounders in favour of their top six batters and five specialist bowlers.

A 229-run thrashing is likely to see that formula banished, with Moeen and Chris Woakes both pencilled in to return in place of the injured Reece Topley and Gus Atkinson. Sam Curran is also vying for one place with David Willey.

Topley’s injury replacement, Brydon Carse trained for the first time on Wednesday afternoon but will not be considered at this stage.