A brusquely assured first-half demolition job from Bayern Munich reaffirmed their Bundesliga title defence credentials in a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Goals from Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and Sadio Mane all before the interval put the champions firmly in the driving seat for a deserved victory at Allianz Arena on Friday, before Thomas Muller added a fourth close to the end.

After a dismal domestic run saw them go four league games without a win, questions had been asked about Julian Nagelsmann's side and their purported chances of claiming another top-flight crown.

But for now, they have been emphatically silenced, while Gerardo Seoane's side saw their horror-show start to the campaign worsened in painful fashion on the road.

It took Sane just three minutes to split open the visitors, fed off the right wing and able to roll a deflected strike beyond the wrong-footed Lukas Hradecky.

Musiala followed suit just after the quarter-hour mark, playing a one-two with Muller off a long ball before squeezing a shot in, and Sane added a third from the edge of the box six minutes from the break.

Mane saw a second overturned 10 minutes after the interval when VAR deemed Odilon Kossounou to have been fouled, but that call was likely scant consolation for Leverkusen.

Yet Bayern were not done, and when Muller pressed Hradecky late on, a tragicomic slip from the goalkeeper left an open net for the veteran to turn home and round off a comprehensive win.

Phil Salt hit a blistering 88 as England beat Pakistan by eight wickets on Friday to level up their seven-match T20I series at 3-3 in Lahore.

Pakistan recovered from a slow start that saw them 15-2 at one point to post 169-6 at the Gaddafi Stadium, thanks in large to the brilliant Babar Azam (87 not out).

But England made easy work of the chase as they reached 100 from seven overs to set up a decider on Sunday.

Without in-form Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan initially struggled as Mohammad Haris (7) and Shan Masood (0) fell early on, leaving Babar to do much of the leg work.

Haider Ali (18), Iftikhar Ahmed (31) and Asif Ali took their side to 136-4, but the latter upper cut to Reece Topley for nine runs and Mohammad Nawaz (12) followed soon after.

Babar's 87 did at least give England something to think about, but Salt and Alex Hales put on an opening partnership of 55 off 23 balls, before the latter was removed for 27.

Salt reached his half-century off just 19 balls en route to an unbeaten 88, including the decisive shot as England posted 170-2 to level things up.

Babar brilliance not enough

Pakistan were without run machine Rizwan but Babar stepped up with 87 runs off 59 balls, which included three sixes and seven fours.

Babar surpassed a milestone 3,000 T20I runs in the process, yet it was not enough to steer the hosts to an unassailable series lead.

England ease to victory

The tourists were set 170 to avoid a third successive T20I defeat to Pakistan for the first time ever and had no trouble in reaching that target.

Only once before – against New Zealand in November 2019 (6.4 overs in a game reduced by rain to 11 overs) – have England previously reached 100 from seven overs.

Salt played a key part in that as he underlined his credentials to partner Jos Buttler at the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The NFL returns to London on Sunday with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium playing host to the Minnesota Vikings' clash with the New Orleans Saints.

Back-to-back defeats against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers have left the Saints looking for a response in their trip across the pond, with those losses coming despite impressive defensive performances. The Saints have held their opponents to fewer than 250 net passing yards and no more than one TD pass in nine straight games.

This season, the Saints have allowed a total of 551 passing yards (183.7 per game), which stands as the fifth-best record in the NFL. On the ground though, the story is far different – allowing 418 yards total (139.3 per game), the seventh-most.

Offensively, no team has lost more fumbles (4) than the Saints this season or thrown more interceptions (5), resulting in a turnover differential of minus 6 – again more than anyone else.

On the opposing side, the Vikings have allowed a total of 413.3 total yards per game, sitting behind only the Ravens (458) for the highest total of yards allowed per game. However, the Ravens have only allowed 18.3 points per game this season – enough to slot them into the top 10 for the fewest conceded this term.

Kirk Cousins will fancy his chances against the Saints, as he boasts a career passer rating of 126.7 against New Orleans in the regular season; the highest of any quarterback against a single opponent in the Super Bowl era (minimum 125 attempts).

In his four career matches against the Saints, Cousins has thrown 12 TD passes and just one interception, though he has lost each of his last three matchups against New Orleans.

Premier League football returns in full fashion this weekend for the first time in four weeks, with the Manchester derby a highlight.

Free-scoring Manchester City have excelled so far this term, only dropping points in draws against Aston Villa and Newcastle United, while Manchester United have won their past four after starting the season with back-to-back losses.

United have already shown intent in key matches with victories against Arsenal and Liverpool, while City are yet to face one of the established 'top six' after their clash with Tottenham was postponed.

Ahead of the game, Stats Perform has dived into the Opta stats to highlight the key angles of the match.

City's pursuit of dominance

Victory for City would mark the third in a row in the Premier League against United for the first time since a streak of four wins between April 2013 and November 2014 – including a 4-1 triumph in this fixture last season.

Defeat for United would also be their 18th in the Premier League against their cross-city rivals, equalling Liverpool and Chelsea for the most losses they have suffered in the history of the competition.

City were last beaten at home against Tottenham in February and have lost only 15 of 117 Premier League matches at the Etihad Stadium with Pep Guardiola at the helm, though he has won only two of six in the league against United at the venue.

United's solid form

Four victories in a row in the Premier League for United, on the back of four consecutive defeats, has put Erik ten Hag's side in good form heading into a crucial stage of the season and the club have not won five league games on the spin since April 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

While City have home advantage on Sunday, the away side in the Manchester derby have won 21 times in the Premier League, with no fixture being won by the visitors more times in the competition's history – three of those being for United against Guardiola's City.

United have also won two of their past three against City at the Etihad Stadium, with a 2-0 victory in March 2021 and a 2-1 triumph in December 2019.

Haaland's haunts

Hat-tricks in back-to-back Premier League home matches heading into the Manchester derby have put Erling Haaland in with an opportunity to secure further history, with no player in the competition's history netting a treble in three consecutive home games before.

City's dominance at home is not just down to the former Borussia Dortmund man, however, as they have won each of their past seven Premier League matches at home, scoring at least three goals on each occasion – a run that stretches back to last season.

No team have won eight straight matches in the top flight of English football while scoring at least three goals in each since Tottenham between March and September 1965.

Guardiola's free-scoring side have scored 10 goals in the first half of matches and 13 in the second half, both of which are more than the eight goals United have in total – while United have conceded 75 per cent of their goals in the opening half (6/8).

Ten Hag seeks to end sorry run

Ten Hag has never faced off against Guardiola during the pair's managerial career and he will be looking to end a sorry run for United managers in his first Manchester derby since taking over at the club.

Each of the five previous United managers to have taken charge of a Premier League match against City in the league have lost their first – with David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick all suffering defeats.

That leaves Alex Ferguson as the last United manager to win his first league match against City, which came way back in March 1987.

Erik ten Hag will look to do something no Manchester United manager has since Alex Ferguson when he heads to Manchester City on Sunday for a derby he is hugely looking forward to.

Ten Hag has recovered from a rocky start at Old Trafford to lead United to four straight wins in the Premier League.

But in order to extend that run, he will have to end a miserable sequences of results for United managers in their first Manchester derbies.

United great Ferguson won his first such clash in March 1987, but each of his successors – David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick – have lost their league derby debuts.

Only Chelsea and Liverpool (both 18) have celebrated more Premier League wins against United than their nearest neighbours (17), who have come out on top in their past three meetings.

Yet Ten Hag is relishing the challenge, as he told reporters on Friday: "I played many derbies. I know what they are, what rivals are doing to each other.

"I know it's the most important game here in the Manchester area for the fans. It excites me. I want to be involved in these games.

"It's a good fight that gives so much energy. You do everything to win that game."

City have won their past seven home league games, scoring at least three times in each of them, but Ten Hag is determined to focus on his own side's merits.

"The approach is for us to look to ourselves," he said.

"The approach at Man United is we want to win every game, and that message I've already told several times here. For Sunday, it's nothing else.

"We have to perform our best; with our way of playing, our rules, our principles, we have to do our best.

"We have made a good game plan, then it's about execution. We have to do it. We want to get the result, and we know if we want to get the result, we have to do it 100 per cent well."

Similarly, Ten Hag was keen not to spend too much time worrying about Erling Haaland, the City sensation who has scored a hat-trick in each of his past two home league matches. No Premier League player has ever scored three home trebles in a row.

"We don't play against Haaland; we play against Man City," Ten Hag added. "They have a team of more than 11 players, but we have also.

"We are confident of our capabilities, and if we act as a team, in and out of possession, then we can beat our opponents. That is the belief we have to take with us when we start the game."

Marcus Rashford described his delight at working under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United after being named the Premier League's Player of the Month for September.

Forward Rashford scored two goals and assisted two more in United's two league matches this month.

Both games – at Leicester City and at home to leaders Arsenal – ended in victory to extend United's winning run to four in the top flight.

In an interview with MUTV after earning the award for the second time in his career (also January 2019), Rashford deflected praise as he suggested "everyone's chipped in" to aid United's revival.

He also described his "favourite moment" of the month as his assist for Antony against Arsenal, ahead of either of his own two goals that day.

"Antony scoring his first goal on his debut – I think that's a massive moment," Rashford said. "It gives us strength and courage."

And the England international, who was missing from Gareth Southgate's latest squad following injury, believes United as a team are moving "in the right direction" following Ten Hag's appointment as manager at the start of the season.

"It's a fresh start and something to work towards," Rashford added. "For me, it's done me wonders.

"I'm very happy that he's here, and I'm just happy that his desire is to improve everyone and improve the team.

"It's an exciting feeling to be working towards a big end goal. Hopefully we can keep taking steps in the right direction, keep picking up points and keep progressing in tournaments."

A truncated schedule saw United score only four times in September, but Rashford had a hand in each of them and is now looking to perform on a more consistent basis.

"For me, as an individual, it's just about doing that as often as I can, trying to help the team with goals and assists and just my all-round play," he said.

Rashford has three goals and two assists for the season, having only contributed four goals and two assists in the Premier League in the whole of the previous campaign.

The 24-year-old has never previously tallied as many as five goal contributions through his first six appearances of a league season.

Week 4 of the NFL season promises plenty of excitement following a blistering start to the 2022 season.

The season has so far been defined by close finishes. Through three weeks, there have been 18 games decided by three points or fewer this season, the most such games through the first three weeks of a season in NFL history. 

A packed crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will hope to see another tight game as the NFL returns to London with the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings facing off.

The Washington Commanders travel to face the Dallas Cowboys in a fierce rivalry and the Philadelphia Eagles will look to extend their winning streak against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With plenty more on the agenda, Stats Perform has used its data to preview this week's games.

Minnesota Vikings (1-2) @ New Orleans Saints (1-2)

A high-scoring affair should be on the cards in London, as the Vikings and Saints have put up 700 points (53.8 per game) over their last 13 regular season matchups dating back to 1995 – more than any other game with at least a dozen meetings.

The Vikings are in very capable hands with Kirk Cousins, who has a career passer rating of 126.7 against the Saints in the regular season, the highest by any QB against a single opponent in the Super Bowl era (minimum 125 attempts).

However, they face a Saints defense that has held opponents to fewer than 250 passing yards and one touchdown pass for nine straight games, a franchise record, while the only team in the last 10 years to enjoy a longer streak was the New England Patriots in 2019.

Chris Olave boasts 268 receiving yards in his first three career games but is yet to score a touchdown, a record which stands as the most since Charlie Wade's 315 yards without a TD in his first three games for the Chicago Bears in 1974.

Washington Commanders (1-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (2-1)

The Cowboys host the Commanders having won both matchups last season, including a 56-14 triumph in Week 14 that stands as the highest margin of victory for either team in the all-time series.

With six sacks in the Week 2 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals and five sacks last weekend against the New York Giants, the Cowboys have recorded five or more sacks in consecutive games for the first time since a four-game streak in November/December 2008.

That will be of particular concern to Carson Wentz, who was sacked a career-high nine times in the Commanders' home loss to the Eagles last week – the most of any QB for the franchise since John Beck was sacked 10 times by the Buffalo Bills in 2011.

Fourth-quarter offense has been a highlight for Washington, though, totalling 455 scrimmage yards (342 passing, 113 rushing) and standing third in the NFL for the most fourth-quarter yards in 2022 behind the Saints (541) and the Indianapolis Colts (456).

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)

The only 3-0 side to play on Sunday, the Eagles have held the Jaguars to under 20 points in the last four matchups between the two sides stretching back to 2006, tied for the second-longest active such run for Philadelphia behind the six-game streak against the Jets.

In the past two weeks, the Eagles have kept their opponents to under 10 points (8 vs Washington, 7 vs Minnesota) and are the only NFL team this season to achieve the feat in consecutive games, while Philadelphia last went three in a row in that regard in 1980.

The Jaguars are 2-1 at the start of the season for the first time since 2018 and have scored 84 points, the third-most by the team in the opening three games of the season in franchise history (98 in 1997 and 89 in 2017).

Both teams rank in the top five in the NFL for total first downs this season, with the Eagles (73) third and the Jaguars (70) fifth.

Elsewhere…

The Los Angeles Chargers travel to face the Houston Texans having being held to just 26 yards on the ground against the Jaguars last week and have 177 rushing yards in the NFL this season, the fewest in three games in team history.

A total of 572 rushing yards this season places the Cleveland Browns as the NFL's best on the ground this season and they visit the Atlanta Falcons having amassed their highest total through their first three games of a campaign since 1963.

The Seattle Seahawks tackle the Lions boasting seven wins in the last eight matchups against Detroit dating back to 2003, the third-best record by an NFC team against a conference opponent over the past 20 seasons.

The Titans have won each of the last three games against the Colts, including a 34-31 win in overtime last season. A victory this weekend would make this Tennessee's outright longest winning streak against Indianapolis (also three straight wins between 1988 and 1992).

Not satisfied with ending the longest playoff drought in American sports, Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais is now targeting World Series success.

The Mariners are set to return to the MLB postseason on Friday after moving just one win away with a typically chaotic 10-9 walk-off victory over the Texas Rangers in the 11th inning on Thursday.

Defeat for the Baltimore Orioles at the New York Yankees or a Mariners win against the Oakland Athletics would now clinch a Wild Card berth ahead of the final weekend of the regular season.

The city of Seattle has not seen playoff baseball since the 2001 season, with the subsequent 21 years representing the longest active drought in MLB or indeed any of the four major sports in the United States.

While ending that wait has consumed Servais and his players, they have already changed their focus.

The Mariners are the only team in the major leagues never to reach the World Series – the Washington Nationals in 2019 were the last franchise to make their World Series debut – but Servais believes this group of players are capable.

"We've got a really good team – that's why it's exciting," he said after the Rangers win.

"We can pitch, we have clutch hitting, we can defend, we can run the bases. We check a lot of the boxes that you need to have that team to get deep in the playoffs, into the World Series and win it.

"I know everybody is exhausted; we've got to end the drought, end the drought – I've heard it for seven years. Every day, when I get up in the morning and I drive to work, that's what's on my mind.

"But the goal is to win the World Series; it's not just to end the drought. We will end the drought tomorrow. We're going to."

The Premier League returns now the September international break is done and dusted, and it will be foot to the floor until the World Cup comes around.

With two disrupted months of the season almost gone, some teams are settling down at this stage, while others are continuing to tinker in the hope of igniting their campaigns.

The Qatar 2022 break is on the horizon, adding an extra dimension as many players jostle to earn tickets on the plane with their national teams.

Opta data points to familiar faces who may be primed to deliver those all-important fantasy football goals and assists this weekend, as well as a couple of less-vaunted prospects who could boost your points tally.

Jose Sa (West Ham United v Wolves)

Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa has seen his side struggle this term, with just one win so far meaning they sit a spot above the bottom three – but it has not been down to his own form, with only Manchester City's Ederson having kept more clean sheets than his three this term.

No side have scored fewer goals than Wolves' weekend opponents West Ham this season (three, tied with Wolves themselves) which suggests Sa could be on course to bank another strong performance between the posts.

West Ham have been wasteful with their chances, and are underperforming against their expected goals (xG) tally by 4.6 goals, the worst such record in the Premier League.

Kenny Tete (Fulham v Newcastle United)

Sitting sixth coming out of the international break, Fulham already look on course to avoid the drop back to the Championship, and that has come with a handy assist from their Dutch right-back.

No Premier League defender has more assists than Tete this season (three), with only Kevin De Bruyne (six) and Bukayo Saka (four) providing more among all players.

In addition, two of those assists from Tete have come in his last two games for the Cottagers, suggesting a rich chance he could maintain his form.

Son Heung-min (Arsenal v Tottenham)

Having endured a dramatic goal drought to start the season, South Korea international Son's freewheeling hat-trick off the bench last time out likely pushes him back to the forefront of Antonio Conte's plans.

If he bags three goals again in the north London derby, he would become the eighth player to achieve the feat in consecutive Premier League games.

What's more, he can continue to build on an exceptional 2022, where only team-mate Harry Kane leads him for overall Premier League goals (18) and involvements (24).

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City v Manchester United)

While team-mate Erling Haaland has been tearing up the goalscoring charts, the Belgian heart of Pep Guardiola's side remains a surefire bet for any fantasy football player.

No player has provided more assists (6) or created more chances (25) than De Bruyne this season – and after his prior exploits against United in March, he'll be eyeing up another superb performance.

In a 4-1 City win on that occasion, he scored twice and assisted once. Only against Wolves in May, when he scored four times, has De Bruyne had more goal involvements in a Premier League game.

Erling Haaland could reach 40 goals in a record-breaking debut campaign with Manchester City, according to former Liverpool and England striker Emile Heskey.

Haaland has hit the ground running since joining the Premier League champions from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 14 goals in his first 10 games for Pep Guardiola's men in all competitions.

That tally includes 11 goals in seven Premier League appearances, and the Norwegian was named the competition's Player of the Month after scoring nine goals in five outings in August – the best return managed by any player in their first five games in the competition.

The striker's rich vein of form suggests he could trouble the record for most goals in a single Premier League season, which is jointly held by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer (34 goals in 1993-94 and 1994-95 respectively).

Heskey has now backed Haaland to enjoy a historic campaign off the back of his fine start, telling Stats Perform: "I think he will break the records. 

"I think he's at the right club to break the records, and I think he's fantastic because he's adapted very, very well. 

"He's adapted to being the main player in a team like Dortmund; probably linking up play, getting him behind, being that main person to get on the board… to now really not having too many touches because he doesn't need to. 

"I know we talked about how he hasn't been involved in this, he doesn't need to. I think Pep is very specific with the jobs of the players. 

"When I look at Pep's teams, I see them change the personnel, but the actual delivery is exactly the same. So he's very clever to actually to fit into that role and still score goals.

"He's very, very intelligent. He's showing his intelligence because then he'll go away with the national team and it'll be totally different, but he'll still be scoring goals. 

"I think he'll break every record to be honest with you, he could easily score 40 this season."

Haaland has scored a hat-trick on each of his last two home Premier League appearances (against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest).

Should the Norwegian repeat those heroics in Sunday's clash with rivals Manchester United, he will become the first player to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home matches in the competition's history.

The last player to score as many as three home hat-tricks in a single Premier League campaign, meanwhile, was City legend Sergio Aguero in the 2018-19 season

Saturday's North London derby carries greater significance than usual, with unprecedented bragging rights available for Tottenham against Arsenal.

The Gunners' standing at the top of the Premier League marks the first occasion since December 2007 that the two sides have faced off against each other with one of them top of the league.

And a Spurs victory would mark the first time in top-flight history that a win in the derby results in one side replacing the other at the summit.

Both teams are in stellar form so far in the 2022-23 campaign, with Arsenal's only blip coming in a defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, while Spurs stand alongside Manchester City as the only teams yet to taste defeat this term.

Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte have more than steadied their respective ships since taking charge, but all managers have a stern challenge this campaign due to the World Cup, with the end of the international break beginning a seven-week countdown until the first fixture in Qatar.

Building momentum before the season pauses will therefore be vital, and both sides will look to their leading forwards to drive them, though the players differ as one has an established record while the other is at the start of their derby journey.

Kane's killer edge

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is well renowned for his goalscoring prowess and few have experienced it first hand as much as Arsenal, with the England skipper scoring 13 times in the Premier League against the Gunners – more than any other player in the competition's history.

That tally includes a brace against Arteta's side in a 3-0 victory in May, a result which altered the course of the top-four battle and ultimately resulted in Spurs' place in the Champions League and Arsenal's continued absence from the top-tier of European football.

Defending against Spurs, and Kane, has been a clear problem in recent years, with six of the forward's 13 goals in North London derbies coming from the penalty spot, and he will fancy his chances against an Arsenal side who continue to have issues at the back.

While the season has yielded six wins in seven matches for Arsenal, clean sheets have been an issue with the Gunners yet to secure one at the Emirates Stadium in 2022-23 amid an eight-game sequence at home failing to keep the opposition at bay.

If Arsenal do manage to keep Kane quiet, Son Heung-min provides another huge threat.

Son will be encouraged after ending his early season drought with a stunning hat-trick as a substitute against Leicester City prior to the international break.

He has been involved in six goals in his last five against the Gunners (four goals, two assists), though only one of those has been on Arsenal soil.

Jesus takes the wheel

With Spurs possessing two players with an established record of causing Arsenal problems, Arteta will hope to rely on Gabriel Jesus to begin his own streak in his first north London derby appearance.

The Brazil forward has swiftly become an integral part of Arteta's squad, contributing four goals and three assists in his first seven Premier League appearances, though the Gunners are waiting on him to prove himself as a big-game player in his early days at the club.

While at City, Jesus failed to score in nine derby appearances against Manchester United and found the net just once against Tottenham – but he was never the leading man for Pep Guardiola, in contrast to his role at Arsenal.

Jesus' predecessors at Arsenal had decent form against Spurs, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang having four goals in seven derby appearances and Alexandre Lacazette scoring four in nine, highlighting a void that the Gunners need filling.

Arsenal may have shared scoring responsibility this season, Jesus with four while Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard have three, but it is their big-money recruit who needs to deliver on Saturday to deny Spurs and Kane a memorable result.

Novak Djokovic cruised past Pablo Andujar to reach the quarter-finals of the Tel Aviv Open on Thursday, showing no signs of rustiness on his first Tour-level outing since July.

Djokovic had not featured in an ATP-level match since his final victory over Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon, having been forced to miss the US Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

But the Serbian needed little time to find his feet in Israel, winning the first seven games of the match and breaking the Spaniard's serve four times en route to a 6-0 6-3 victory.

Speaking on court afterwards, Djokovic said: "Fantastic atmosphere here tonight, thank you very much. I like the court, it's very intimate and it's very loud. 

"The crowd here is very passionate about the sport, about tennis and I'm really, really happy to be here and to perform here in front of you, so thank you for your support."

The 21-time grand slam winner will face Canada's Vasek Pospisil in the last eight after he beat home hopeful Edan Leshem 6-3 6-2.

Two of Djokovic's fellow seeds fared less well, however, with Diego Schwartzman and Botic van de Zandschulp both being ousted after three-set contests.

Third seed Schwartzman failed to capitalise on a third-set match point in his 6-3 2-6 7-6 (9-7) loss to Arthur Rinderknech, while Britain's Liam Broady teed up a clash with Marin Cilic by beating Van de Zandschulp 6-4 4-6 6-3.

The Sofia Open also saw a couple of seeds fall to surprise defeats on Thursday, although Jannik Sinner avoided any drama in his 6-3 6-4 win over Nuno Borges.

Sinner now has a perfect 10-0 record at the event, which he won in both 2020 and 2021, and will face Australia's Aleksandar Vukic for a place in the final four.

Holger Rune also progressed to the last eight, though he was forced to rally after losing the opener against Lorenzo Sonego, but Pablo Carreno Busta and Oscar Otte were both dumped out.

Second seed Carreno Busta fell to a 6-3 3-6 6-2 reverse against Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler, who will face Poland's Kamil Majchrzak in the quarter-finals after he came back to beat Otte 4-6 6-2 6-4.

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier is "not surprised" by some strong comments made by former colleague Julien Fournier regarding their time together at Nice.

Galtier joined Nice ahead of the 2021-22 campaign after winning the Ligue 1 title with Lille, but he stayed at the Allianz Riviera for just one year before making the move to PSG.

Speaking on RMC show 'After Foot' on Wednesday, ex-Nice director of football Fournier suggested Galtier's exit came down to more than just football reasons.

"It's common knowledge that the relationship I had with Christophe was quite chaotic from the start of the season," said Fournier, who himself left for Parma in July 

"Quite honestly, if I explain the real reasons we argued, Christophe would no longer be allowed in a locker room, neither in France nor in Europe.

"But it was not about football matters. These are much more serious things from my point of view. It was indirectly linked to football. These are things that affect me deeply. 

"We finished the season and we, him and I, were as professional as possible to limit the negative impact that it could have had on the team. Then there was the separation."

Galtier was asked about those remarks at a pre-match press conference on Thursday ahead of his first meeting with Nice since joining PSG.

"He is pretentious," Galtier told reporters. "I am not surprised at the way he expressed himself. I don't want to get tired of debating on everything that was said.

"If we do that, the way it works means we create one debate after another. I'm not surprised about what I heard knowing the character. That's all I've got to say."

Galtier won 23 of his 43 matches in charge of Nice last season and guided the club to a fifth-place finish in Ligue 1.

He departed with the best points-per-game record of any coach in Nice's Ligue 1 history, with his return of 1.76 marginally better than current incumbent Lucien Favre's 1.67.

Galtier's Nice went unbeaten against PSG last season and were the only side to keep clean sheets in both matches against the Parisians.

However, PSG welcome the Eagles to Parc des Princes on Saturday having won seven of their opening eight matches, scoring 26 goals and conceding only four in the process.

Asked if his side are prepared for the challenge on the back of a two-week international break, Galtier said: "We have to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

"We've worked for the past 10 days with five players. This is the first game in a long series. There are 13 games to go before the World Cup and we are preparing carefully."

Emile Heskey believes Gareth Southgate should be given the chance to turn England's fortunes around after relegation from League A in the Nations League.

The Three Lions' manager has come in for criticism after his team finished bottom of Group 3, failing to win any of their six outings against Italy, Hungary and Germany (D3 L3).

With the World Cup in Qatar kicking off in less than two months, the pressure is on Southgate to deliver, though he did guide England to the semi-finals in Russia in 2018 before reaching the final of the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament last year.

Heskey – who made 62 appearances for England – thinks Southgate and his players can turn it around and can take positives from their 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley on Monday.

Speaking to Stats Perform, the former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker said: "I think the draw against Germany did redeem [England] in some cases.

"I thought the fight they showed was fantastic to get it back to 3-2 because they could easily have given up at 2-0 [down]. But they fought back to make it 3-2 and then 3-3, obviously.

"Football has always fascinated me [because] we put no pressure on them, and [then] they get to a semi-final and a final, then we suddenly heap a load of pressure on them and you can see what's happening."

Prior to the six-goal thriller with Germany, England had failed to score with any of their previous 62 non-penalty shots, a run of seven hours and 30 minutes without a non-penalty goal.

Southgate's men are also winless in their last six games in all competitions, their longest run since April to June 1993 (also six). It is their longest ever winless run going into a major tournament.

"When you're not doing well, they're going to justify criticism, and you've got to accept that criticism. It's how you bounce back from that," Heskey added.

"None of these have turned into bad players overnight, and the manager isn't a bad manager overnight. I think you've got to give him the opportunity to turn it around and turn the fortune of the players around as well."

One of the concerns widely discussed has been whether Southgate knows his best team before they take on Iran, the United States and Wales in Group B at the World Cup, but Heskey pointed out selection headaches mean the manager has a number of credible options available to him.

"You could put it either way," he said. "It could be alarming, or it could be a good thing that we don't know the best 11 because players are coming in.

"You've even got Ivan Toney coming into the [last] squad... [Mason] Mount's played a lot of games and then come back in and scored.

"So it's always good to keep the manager on his toes. But you really should know who your starting 11 is coming up to a major tournament."

Antonio Conte described reports linking him with a return to Juventus as "disrespectful" ahead of Tottenham's North London Derby clash with Arsenal.

Spurs are unbeaten in their seven Premier League games this season and trail the Gunners by just one point ahead of Saturday's trip to the Emirates Stadium. 

Should Tottenham avoid defeat at the home of their local rivals, it will be just the second time they have gone unbeaten through their first eight games of a Premier League season, having previously done so in 2016-17.

Conte's work with Tottenham has seen him linked with a return to Juventus, who he led to three consecutive Serie A titles between 2011-12 and 2013-14.

Bianconeri boss Massimiliano Allegri is under pressure after they recorded just two wins in their opening seven Serie A matches this season, but Conte has rubbished speculation he would be tempted by a return to Turin. 

"This is incredible. In this period I think this is disrespectful for the coach that works in Juventus and for me working in Tottenham," Conte said on Thursday.

"We have just started the season. Many times I have spoken about this topic and I've always said I'm happy and enjoying my time with Tottenham. 

"We have the whole season to find the best solution for the club and for me, and for sure I'm enjoying my time at Tottenham. I have a great relationship with the owner [Daniel Levy] and [sporting director Fabio] Paratici. 

"I don't see any problems at the moment in the future. We both signed the contract. I don't want to listen to someone speaking about this."

Tottenham overcame Arsenal in a tense battle for Champions League qualification last season, going on to claim fourth place after beating the Gunners 3-0 in May.

Conte, however, believes Mikel Arteta's side have improved since then, adding: "For sure Arsenal had a fantastic start, they lost only one game against [Manchester] United. They are showing to be a really good team.

"In the summer they made good signings and improved the team that, don't forget, before the last three games of last season, were four points up on us. 

"We are talking about a really good team that, last season, we did a really good job to overcome in the last three games.

"At the same time, I know the quality of this team, that they are working with Arteta for many years. For me, he's a really good coach. He can have in front of him a great career."

Both Hugo Lloris and Dejan Kulusevski are reportedly doubtful for the trip to Arsenal with minor injuries, and Conte believes the punishing nature of the schedule between now and the World Cup will reveal which sides are genuine title contenders. 

"I have seen that many clubs are having big problems with players that played these two games [in the international break], and for sure Tottenham is one of these clubs," he added.

"You have to understand this was the last game [for the players] to show they deserve to play the World Cup, also for the coaches it was the last period to call the players.

"For sure, to play so many games before the international break, and then again now to play 13 games in 43 days, it's crazy, it's crazy. 

"For sure, we have to face it with injuries. In this period, you understand which are the really competitive squads. 

"This is the moment in which you understand who are the title contenders and the teams that are competitive for Champions League."

Saturday's match will be the first North London Derby since December 2007 to begin with one of the sides sitting top of the Premier League. 

Should Spurs win, it would be the first time in top-flight history that either of the teams has beaten the other to replace them at the top of the table.