Ireland captain Johnny Sexton will win his 100th cap in Saturday's Autumn Nations Series opener with Japan.

Prop Tadhg Furlong will make his 50th Ireland appearance.

Head coach Andy Farrell has named 12 Leinster players in his starting team, including Andrew Porter who makes his first Ireland start at loosehead.

Porter and Furlong join in-form Leinster team-mate Ronan Kelleher in the front row and Farrell has named James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne in the second row.

It's an all-Leinster back row with Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan.

Centurion Sexton will partner Jamison Gibson Park at half-back and Garry Ringrose will link-up with Connacht's Bundee Aki at centre for the first time in more than a year.

Hugo Keenan is named at full back with Andrew Conway and James Lowe preferred on the wings.

The replacements bench is packed with experience including prop Cian Healy, second row Iain Henderson, back row Peter O'Mahony, scrum-half Conor Murray and the versatile Keith Earls.

Uncapped hooker Dan Sheehan, Finlay Bealham and Joey Carbery fill the bench, however there is no place for Simon Zebo, who returned to the Ireland set-up following his move from Racing 92 to Munster in the summer.

Despite four wins from five in the United Rugby Championship, Henderson is the only Ulster representation in the matchday squad as Rob Herring, Robert Baloucoune, Stuart McCloskey and James Hume are all left out.

Leitch missing for Japan

Ireland face Japan on Saturday before matches against New Zealand on 13 November before a final game against Argentina on 21 November.

Farrell's side beat Japan in the summer in a nine-try thriller, with Ireland running out 39-31 winners in Dublin.

The Brave Blossoms have made changes from the July encounter, with two changes in the backs as winger Dylan Riley and scrum-half Yutaka Nagare come in for Semisi Masirewa and Naoto Saito, who is named among the replacements.

In the forward pack head coach Jamie Joseph has named Lappies Labuschagne as captain in the absence of Michael Leitch. Ben Gunter will take the place of Leitch at flanker and there is one further change as Jack Cornelsen replaces Wimpie van der Walt in the second row.

Japan lost 32-23 to Australia in Oita on 23 October in their opening Autumn Nations Series match.

Ireland: Keenan; Conway; Ringrose, Aki; Lowe; Sexton (capt), Gibson Park; Porter, Kelleher, Furlong; Beirne, Ryan; Doris, van der Flier, Conan.

Replacements: Sheehan, Healy, Bealham, Henderson, O'Mahony, Murray, Carbery, Earls.

Japan: Matushima; Riley; Lafaele, Nakamura; Fifita; Tamura, Nagare; Inagaki, Sakate, Koo; Cornelsen, Moore; Gunter, Labuschagne (capt), Himeno.

Replacements: Niwai, Millar, Valu, Tokunaga, Tatafu, Saito, Matsude, Yamanaka.