Robert Lewandowski scored his first Barcelona hat-trick as the Blaugrana met expectations with a dominant 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen to open their Champions League campaign.

Barca's three first-half goals were more than they managed over the whole group stage last season (two) when they were dumped into the Europa League, though sterner challenges await.

Plzen had moments against an unconvincing Barca defence, with Jan Sykora netting just before the break, but the hosts were already ahead thanks to Franck Kessie and Lewandowski, who made it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time.

Although the tempo slowed slightly, Barca remained dominant after the break and Lewandowski ensured he became the first player to net a Champions League hat-trick with three different teams before Ferran Torres got in on the act.

Barca deservedly went in front early when Jules Kounde's header from a corner set up Kessie to nod in on his first start for the club.

Plzen looked set to level when Andreas Christensen clumsily tripped Jhon Mosquera in the box, but a foul on the Dane was spotted following a VAR review.

That reprieve was added to soon after as Lewandowski ruthlessly found the bottom-right corner from 20 yards.

Plzen at least appeared to be going into the break within touching distance thanks to Sykora converting from close range, but the excellent Ousmane Dembele teed up a stooping Lewandowski header to swiftly restore the two-goal lead.

Ansu Fati surprisingly sliced well wide in the first minute of a second half that was significantly less intense, but his wastefulness mattered little.

Lewandowski increased the deficit and cap his hat-trick with another sumptuous 20-yard finish after a neat interchange with Torres.

The Spain winger then rounded things off with a thumping strike from Dembele's cross.

What does it mean? Barca starting to right wrongs

Barcelona's Champions League campaign last season was dreadful – while they were paired with Bayern Munich in the group, they also finished below Benfica. Dynamo Kiev were the only team they beat.

Granted, their group this season is even tougher given Bayern and Inter are the other two teams Barca will face, but this was clearly a much greater showing than they produced against anyone in 2021-22. This was not a season-defining showing by any stretch, but the fact Barca made it look so straightforward at least shows progress.

Dembele ouses class

Lewandowski will obviously hog most headlines with his exceptional treble, but Dembele was still the best player on the pitch.

His five key passes – and two assists – were match highs, but he was just an absolute terror in general. A tremendous display.

Fati finding his feet

Xavi has been patient with Fati this season following his injury woes. This was his first start of the campaign and there was certainly some rustiness on show, as one might expect.

None of his four shots were on target, though Barca will be happy to see him come through the game unscathed, and he was lively in the first half.

What's next?

Barca go to Bayern next Tuesday as Lewandowski returns to the Allianz Arena, while Plzen will host Inter the same day.

Richarlison scored his first two Tottenham goals as they marked their return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2019-20 season with a 2-0 win over 10-man Marseille on Wednesday.

Spurs started slowly in their first competitive clash against the Ligue 1 side, but their cause was helped significantly just after half-time when Chancel Mbemba was shown a straight red card for a professional foul. 

Antonio Conte's men took full advantage of that numerical advantage inside the closing 15 minutes as Richarlison twice headed past Pau Lopez to the delight of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd. 

The result means Spurs are level on three points with Sporting CP at the Group D summit after the Portuguese side beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 earlier in the day.

Spurs did most of the pressing in the first half, yet their only chance of note fell to Harry Kane five minutes before the interval, the England captain dragging wide after being played in by Son Heung-min.

Marseille's hopes of going back to France with a positive result were dealt a blow two minutes into the second half when Mbemba received his marching orders for bringing down a clean-through Son just outside the penalty area. 

Substitute Dejan Kulusevski injected some much-needed spark into Spurs' attack following his introduction on the hour mark, and the new-look hosts went ahead in the 76th minute when Richarlison headed home Ivan Perisic's cross. 

The former Everton man put the result beyond doubt five minutes later with another header – this time from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's cross – that left Lopez with no chance. 

Piotr Zielinski struck twice and assisted another as Liverpool's poor start to the season continued with a humbling 4-1 defeat at Napoli in their Champions League opener.

Jurgen Klopp's side have underwhelmed in their first six Premier League games, winning just twice, and were behind after only five minutes in Naples following Zielinski's penalty.

Alisson denied Victor Osimhen's spot-kick just 13 minutes later, but Napoli were 3-0 up at half-time after strikes from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone, the latter on his Champions League debut.

Zielinski finished past Alisson again after the interval before Luiz Diaz responded with a bending effort – a mere consolation goal for Liverpool in the Group A encounter.

Osimhen rounded Alisson before striking the post with just a minute played, but Napoli were soon ahead after James Milner handled Zielinski's effort inside the area.

Zielinski found the bottom-left corner from the resulting penalty and another spot-kick arrived soon after when VAR sent referee Carlos del Cerro Grande to check a Virgil van Dijk foul on Osimhen, who was then denied by Alisson diving to his right.

Van Dijk cleared off the line with the goal gaping for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but Napoli doubled their lead when Zielinski teed up Anguissa, who fired under the onrushing Alisson.

Alex Meret tipped away a goal-bound Van Dijk header before Simeone, on for the injured Osimhen, turned Kvaratskhelia's driven cross into an empty net on the stroke of half-time.

Zielinski doubled his account just two minutes after the break, dinking over Alisson on the rebound following Simeone's pass, before Diaz curled into the bottom-right corner after Andy Robertson's offload.

Meret pushed a powerful Diaz header over from Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross but Liverpool were unable to recover after a toothless first-half showing.

What does it mean? Liverpool's group-stage run ends as Napoli struggles continue

Liverpool cruised to six wins from as many group-stage games in last year's competition but their attempts to become the first English side to win seven straight such matches ended abruptly.

The Reds have conceded the first goal in five games in all competitions this season, the joint-most of any Premier League side, and were never going to recover after finding themselves three down at half-time in the Champions League for just a fourth time.

Liverpool's third Champions League defeat at Napoli in the last five seasons leaves Group A wide open after the first matchday, in which Ajax smashed Rangers 4-0 in Wednesday's other game.

Kvaratskhelia leaves Trent spinning

Klopp heaped praise on Luciano Spalletti's "interesting project" before the clash and pinpointed Zielinski as the main threat – and the midfielder responded with two goals and an assist.

But Kvaratskhelia should also take the plaudits after regularly tormenting Alexander-Arnold, creating a team-high three chances – one of those the assist for Simeone's goal – before his 57th-minute removal.

Van Dijk dives in

Van Dijk epitomises Klopp's revolution at Liverpool, with his calmness and authority in defence characterising the dominant Reds, but his performances have left much to be desired in recent weeks.

The centre-back fouled Osimhen for the second spot-kick, the second penalty he has conceded in his last seven appearances for the Reds. He had previously not given one away in 150 games in all competitions.

What's next?

Liverpool will aim to recover when they return to Premier League action at home to Wolves on Saturday, while Napoli host Spezia in Serie A on the same day.

Rangers' players "let a lot of people down" with their performance in Wednesday's heavy Champions League defeat to Ajax, according to midfielder Ryan Jack.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side were on the end of a 4-0 loss in Amsterdam, four days on from going down to rivals Celtic by the same scoreline in the Scottish Premiership.

Ajax were three ahead inside 33 minutes thanks to goals from Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis and Mohammed Kudus, which Steven Bergwijn later added to.

That is the earliest Ajax have ever led by three goals in a Champions League game as they beat Rangers for a fifth time in five meetings in all competitions.

Jack was at fault for the fourth of the hosts' goals, with a terrible pass being intercepted, and accepts his side were simply not good enough at Johan Cruijff ArenA.

"We have let a lot of people down tonight," he told BT Sport. "We apologise to the fans who sacrificed to make this trip and support us. 

"We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves. The games are coming thick and fast and we have to pick ourselves up, stick together and go again.

"Obviously everyone's disappointed. All we can do is pick ourselves up because we have a massive game away to Aberdeen. 

"We know how tough a venue that will be, so on the back of the two 4-0 defeats it's important we pick ourselves up."

Rangers had seven of their 11 starters from May's Europa League final loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, but Van Bronckhorst made a triple change at half-time.

That led to an improved second-half showing, albeit with Ajax taking their foot off the gas prior to Bergwijn's late fourth.

Reflecting on a third defeat in 12 matches this season, Van Bronckhorst said: "The performance wasn't good. The players are committed. They want to fight and work hard. 

"But against an opponent like Ajax when you're not as organised as you should be it's going to be tough.

"You don't want to give space away against Ajax. We gave less space away in the second half because we played a little bit more defensively. 

"We should have stayed more in our zones in the first half. We didn't do that so well and, as I said, every mistake is punished."

Ajax reached the last-16 stage last season and have now won each of their past four group matches in the competition, their best-such run since December 1995 (also four).

"This was a beautiful evening for us," Ajax playmaker Dusan Tadic told RTL7. "It was a great win in front of our fans. The team spirit was very good. 

"There was a lot of movement in the squad and we often put pressure on Rangers. We played very well and managed to show our own football. 

"I played in a new position for the third game in a row, and there is always room for improvement, but I have played for the team and I am very happy with this victory."

UEFA has launched an investigation into alleged "discriminatory behaviour" from Juventus supporters during their Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

A Kylian Mbappe brace condemned Juventus to defeat in their Champions League opener at the Parc des Princes, with Weston McKennie scoring a second-half consolation for the Bianconeri.

After the match, video footage was circulated on social media which appeared to show visiting fans making offensive gestures, prompting an inquiry. 

A UEFA statement released on Wednesday read: "In accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding allegations of discriminatory behaviour by Juventus supporters at the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage match between Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus played on 6 September in France.

"Information on this matter will be made available in due course."

Juventus are set to host the reverse fixture on November 2.

Serge Aurier has agreed to join Nottingham Forest on a free transfer as Steve Cooper's side announced their 22nd signing since being promoted to the Premier League.

The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain defender became a free agent after leaving Villarreal at the end of last season.

Ivory Coast captain Aurier racked up 77 Premier League appearances for Spurs, also reaching the Champions League final in 2019.

Djibril Sidibe was reported to be a target of Cooper to provide competition for Neco Williams, who arrived from Liverpool in July, but Forest have instead signed Aurier, subject to international clearance.

Forest are yet to confirm the terms of Aurier's contract, with the full-back providing more cover on the right-hand side after Cooper's side failed to re-sign loanee Djed Spence, who joined Spurs.

Aurier joins the likes of Dean Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Moussa Niakhate, Morgan Gibbs-White and Emmanuel Dennis as Forest's squad reshaping continues past the end of the transfer window.

Forest sit 19th in the infant Premier League table and will look to recover from a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth when they visit Leeds United on Monday.

Gareth Southgate is set to be without Jordan Pickford for England's final fixtures before the World Cup.

Stats Perform understands that Everton are optimistic the goalkeeper, who has been struggling with a thigh injury, will miss no longer than four weeks.

A club statement published on Wednesday, following reports of Pickford's injury, confirmed he would not return until after the international break, which starts on September 19.

It is a blow for Frank Lampard's team, who are winless in the Premier League this season, despite having shown promise in recent outings, including the 0-0 derby draw with Merseyside rivals Liverpool on Saturday.

Pickford was outstanding in that match, making eight saves, including an excellent fingertip stop to deny Mohamed Salah a stoppage-time winner at Goodison Park.

It is also bad news for Southgate, whose side face Italy on September 23 and Germany three days later in the Nations League.

England are without a win in the Nations League this year and lost 4-0 to Hungary in their last outing back in June. They do not have another match before kicking off their World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21.

Pickford's injury will, however, present a chance for Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson to prove their worth to Southgate ahead of the tournament in Qatar.

Everton, meanwhile, will be without their goalkeeper for Sunday's trip to Arsenal and a home match against West Ham on September 18. Pickford might recover to face Southampton on October 1, though a meeting with Manchester United a week later is perhaps more likely to mark a return to action.

After his efforts against Liverpool, Pickford – who was crucial to Everton staying up last season – is the best-performing goalkeeper in the Premier League this term for goals prevented, which uses Opta's expected goals on target conceded (xGOT) model to calculate how well a shot-stopper has performed.

Pickford's 2.6 goals prevented tops the league, though before the Merseyside derby that figure stood at 1.11 (the fifth-best in the competition), showing just how well the 28-year-old performed against Liverpool.

Asmir Begovic, who was reportedly of interest to Manchester United late in the transfer window, will likely fill in for Everton in Pickford's absence.

Ben Stokes has maintained that he and Alex Hales share the objective "to win the World Cup" after the Nottinghamshire batter was recalled to the England squad ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Hales has not played for England in three years since being taken out of the squad for the ODI World Cup in 2019 for failing a recreational drug test, and was not named in the initial squad for the upcoming T20 edition.

But a freak injury to Jonny Bairstow while playing golf last week has led to Hales being recalled for the tournament, as well as the squad for the T20 tour of Pakistan, which starts later this month.

Stokes' relationship with Hales is said to have declined after both were involved in a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017

But England Test captain Stokes acknowledged the quality Hales brings to the team.

"Alex is definitely one of the best T20 players in the world and unfortunately with what happened with Jonny we had to call another player up," Stokes told reporters.

"Alex is definitely one of the guys that bowlers don’t want to be bowling at in the T20 format."

However, Stokes was quiet when asked about their current relationship, adding: "My goal, Alex’s goal and everyone else’s goal who is part of that squad is to win the World Cup."

Mikel Arteta expressed his surprise after Bernd Leno suggested he was forced to leave Arsenal due to "politics" rather than performances.

The Germany goalkeeper swapped London clubs ahead of the 2022-23 season as he ended a four-year stay at Arsenal to join fellow Premier League side Fulham.

Leno penned a three-year contract with the Cottagers in a bid to boost his hopes of featuring at the World Cup for Germany later in the year, after falling behind Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal pecking order.

The 30-year-old departing Emirates Stadium came as no surprise after Arsenal brought in goalkeeper Matt Turner from New England Revolution, though Leno says he was forced out the club.

"When I realised that it wasn't about performance or quality, I knew I had to go," Leno told German newspaper Sport Bild.

"During the preparation I saw that it's not about performance, it's just about politics. It was clear to me: I have to get out of here."

Arteta appeared bemused when Leno's comments were put to him ahead of Arsenal's Europa League clash at Zurich on Thursday, claiming the suggestions were unexpected.

"I'm really surprised and I don't know if he's talking about the politics when he was starting every match or when he wasn't playing," the Arsenal manager said. "Really surprised about it."

As Leno looks to settle into life at Craven Cottage, Arteta looks ahead to a European campaign with Arsenal, who have been drawn in a group with Zurich, PSV and Bodo/Glimt.

The Gunners are among the pre-tournament favourites to go far in the Europa League, alongside their Premier League exploits that have seen them win five of their opening six games.

A 3-1 defeat at Manchester United ended the perfect start for Arsenal, who remain top of the league by a point, but Arteta knows he must balance players' workloads – especially Bukayo Saka.

"We will try to do our best to manage [Saka's] load, understanding that after November we have something that we've never experienced before," the Spaniard added, referencing the World Cup later in the year.

While Arteta may have to be cautious with star winger Saka, competing on the European front will offer other players a chance such as recent arrival Fabio Vieira, who signed from Porto in the transfer window.

"Hopefully you're going to see a lot more of him in the next few weeks and I'm sure you're going to enjoy," Arteta said of Vieira, before confirming the Gunners will be without Emile Smith Rowe due to injury.

"Emile felt some discomfort again in an area that he's been dealing with now for a few weeks. He hasn't trained in the last few days so he's out of the squad."

Rory McIlroy says his relationships with several former Ryder Cup team-mates have strained by their decisions to join the LIV Golf series.

Five members of Europe's team for the 2021 tournament, at which they were well beaten by the United States at Whistling Straits, have joined the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed circuit.

Four of those five – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Bernd Wiesberger – are part of the field for this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The presence of LIV golfers at the DP World Tour's flagship event has been criticised by some players, with former world number one Jon Rahm and defending BMW PGA champion Billy Horschel both hitting out at their participation. 

McIlroy has been a fierce defender of the PGA Tour amid the divide with LIV Golf, and admits he has grown distant with many of his counterparts on the breakaway circuit. 

"I wouldn't say I've got much of a relationship with them at the minute," McIlroy said of his former Ryder Cup team-mates.

"But, like, I haven't done anything different. They are the ones that have made that decision. I can sit here and keep my head held high and say I haven't done anything differently."

Having declared last month that it would be "hard to stomach" LIV players joining the field at Wentworth, McIlroy was more diplomatic this time around, adding: "They are here. They are playing the golf tournament. 

"My opinion is they shouldn't be here, but again that's just my opinion.

"But we are all going to tee it up on the first tee tomorrow and we are all going to go play 72 holes, which is a novelty for them at this point, and then we'll go from there.

"If you're just talking about Ryder Cup, that's not the future of the Ryder Cup team. They've played in probably a combined 25, 30 Ryder Cups, whatever it is.

"The Hojgaards [brothers Rasmus and Nicolai], Bobby Mac [Robert MacIntyre], whoever else is coming up, they are the future of the Ryder Cup team. That's what we should be thinking about and talking about."

Meanwhile, the DP World Tour's chief executive Keith Pelley has hit out at comments from Westwood and Garcia after the two men claimed the DP World Tour is nothing more than a feeder circuit for the PGA.

Garcia, Europe's record points scorer in the Ryder Cup, recently declared the DP World Tour to be just the fifth best circuit in world golf.

"It's unbelievable," Pelley said. "Let's look at the facts. If the metric determining the top tours in the world is just money, then the number one tour is the PGA Tour, always has been. You could argue that the LIV Invitational Series is number two.

"But The Asian Tour, $22.5m; Korn Ferry Tour; $20m; Japan, $28m; Australia, $5.8m; Sunshine Tour, $7.4m. Totalling all their prize funds together comes to just half of our tour. So even if the only metric is money, how possibly could we ever become number five?

"Is this week a tournament that is on a feeder tour? A tournament that has sold-out crowds, television coverage around the world in 150 countries, five of the top 15 players in the world? A tournament with 150 accredited media?

"Our first co-sanctioned event with the PGA Tour in Scotland, where 14 of the top 15 players played, would that appear on a feeder tour? I could go on and on."

Pelley also defended his decision to remain aligned with the PGA Tour, adding: "LIV Golf and the PGA Tour are involved in a power struggle for our sport.

"It is corporate America versus a sovereign state and a conflict fought out with eye-watering sums of money. I often get the question, why can't we work with both the PGA Tour and the Saudis. We tried.

"But the Saudis remain determined to set up a new series outside of the current ecosystem. That decision has created the conflict we see today, and we chose to partner with the leading tour in the game.

"Some people might not agree with that decision. But it's a decision we feel is the right thing to do for all our members."

Diogo Dalot hailed Antony's instant impact at Manchester United and backed the winger to "adapt quickly", with the partnership made easier between the pair due to their native Portuguese language.

Former Ajax winger Antony, who United paid an initial £81.3million (€95m) for, scored just three days after moving to Old Trafford as he netted in Sunday's 3-1 win over Arsenal.

That strike made Antony, aged 22 years and 192 days, the youngest Brazilian to score on his Premier League debut for any team.

Dalot operated at right-back behind the 22-year-old, the Portugal international starting his sixth game in succession for United, which suggests he may be Erik ten Hag's preferred option going forward.

While the pair hail from different countries, they both speak Portuguese – a factor that Dalot believes will help Antony settle into life in Manchester.

"I mean I think you could see the impact he had straight away in our team," Dalot said of his team-mate as United prepare to face Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday. 

"It will take time for us to adapt to each other, but I think he adapted really quickly in the few days that he had in training and especially in the game [3-1 win over Arsenal].

"Obviously it makes it a little bit easier for me to speak to him in Portuguese, it comes out a little bit quicker than English.

"But I think he's a very good kid, very open to getting help as well, which is good, I think he'll adapt quickly. Everybody welcomed him as if he'd been here a long time, and I'm sure he'll be very successful."

Antony is not the only Brazilian to arrive for Ten Hag's side, with Casemiro leaving Real Madrid to join United, who have also brought in the likes of Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia.

Those new signings appear to be settling in, with United recording four straight Premier League victories after opening with two defeats, including a 4-0 hammering at Brentford.

Ten Hag has constantly reiterated United are far from the finished article – sitting fifth in the embryonic Premier League table, just three points behind leaders Arsenal – and Dalot is glad to see an upturn in form.

"It's always difficult when you lose games. Obviously, the mood is not the same, but in our heads we always come here every day to give 100 per cent, to get better in every aspect that we can," he added.

"After Brentford, we had a full week to prepare for a game we knew would be difficult. We won it, it's in the past, now we want to focus on tomorrow, and do the same thing every day, give 100 per cent and win games."

Dalot started just 19 league games last season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, but believes Ten Hag is now rewarding him for fighting for his position with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

"I'm enjoying the opportunities I'm being given. This is why I came here, to play games, to give my best every single game, to be ready for every game, and this is what I've been doing and what I've been fighting for," he continued. 

"Competition will always be there, this is a club with high standards and high demands, this is the way that I like to work. I will try to keep on doing it for as long as I can. It's been a very positive start."

Ajax blew away Rangers with three first-half goals as the Dutch giants kicked off their Champions League campaign with a resounding 4-0 victory in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis and Mohammed Kudus were all on target inside 33 minutes, with that Ajax's earliest three-goal lead in the competition's history.

Rangers, also beaten 4-0 by rivals Celtic at the weekend, made a triple substitution at the break but Ajax showed no remorse and added a late fourth through Steven Bergwijn.

Ajax were dominant from the first whistle and there was a sense of inevitably about their opener when an unmarked Alvarez headed in Dusan Tadic's in-swinging corner.

Berghuis added a somewhat fortunate second for Ajax, the Netherlands winger's strike taking a big deflection off James Sands on its way past Jon McLaughlin.

A quickfire third followed as Kudus was allowed to charge into the box and fire a stunning shot across McLaughlin and into the top-far corner.

Rangers had a Borna Barisic strike chalked off for offside, and Ajax only added to their opponents' pain thanks to Bergwijn's finish following a terrible pass from Ryan Jack.

Ben Stokes believes England have added a rare talent to their side for the Test series decider with South Africa, with Harry Brook set to come into the team.

Brook is poised to make his Test debut at The Oval as England aim to seal their second series win under Stokes' captaincy, having claimed a 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand earlier in the year.

The right-hander will replace Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow, who was ruled out because of a freak injury suffered on the golf course that will also keep him out of the T20 World Cup.

Brook has thrived in all formats of the game for his county and has seven centuries and 17 half-centuries to his name in first-class cricket.

He also scored 140 in a match against the touring South African party for the England Lions last month, and Stokes was effusive in his praise of Brook ahead of his bow in the longest format.

"There's just things that stand out about certain players, like the time they have at the crease, the shots they play," Stokes said.

"There's just something that stands out that puts them above other people you see playing. He's shown this summer when he's been playing for Yorkshire and the Superchargers [in the Hundred] the skill he has.

"The way he operates, the way he wants to go out and dominate is very rare. He's a huge talent and he has to go out there and show everybody what he can do."

South Africa captain Dean Elgar, however, gives little weight to Brook's innings in the tour match, making it clear that the Test arena and the decider of a series that has seen each side win a match by an innings represents an entirely different proposition.

"You can bat like that in a four-day game or a County Championship game but this is Test cricket," Elgar said. "There are a lot of things that put a stop to you as a player, whether it’s the crowd, the cameras, whatever the case is.

"Brooky, I've played quite a few games against him, being around the county circuit. He's a good player, no doubt.

"He got a few runs against us but, again, this is Test cricket and we've got our fast bowlers now who didn't bowl against him in Kent, so I'm not reading too much into that. This is Test cricket, it will humble you as a player and a person. Hopefully he doesn't do what he did against us in Canterbury.

"I can't blow too much smoke for the opposition, I'm not there to do that. But I just know the environment and this is the big league now."

England seeking four in a row

The omens for a South Africa away win are not good.

England have a chance to register their fourth consecutive multigame bilateral men's Test series win against South Africa, it will be the third time in the history of this fixture that the hosts have won as many consecutive multigame bilateral men's Test series against the Proteas; South Africa last won such a series in July 2012.

Additionally, South Africa have just one win from their 15 matches against England at The Oval.

Leach eyes century

Jack Leach could well be England's match-winner if they are bowling last, and he will have extra motivation to run through the South Africa line-up.

The spinner needs five more for 100 wickets in men's Tests for England. He would become the 49th player to achieve this feat for his country; Leach has taken five or more wickets in a match nine times in his Test career.