If the International team is going to have any chance to challenge the Americans at this year’s Presidents Cup, it’s going to need a big performance from one of Australia’s greats.

Adam Scott will be competing in his 10^th consecutive cup when the matches are contested Dec. 12-15 at Royal Melbourne. He didn’t play when the event was last held in his native country, in 2000, the lone time the International team has won, but captain Ernie Els will need him at his best this go-around.

Perhaps Scott is finding his form at the right time.

Scott made three consecutive birdies on the back nine Friday, en route to a 69 in Round 2 of the WGC-HSBC Champions. At 9 under par, overall, he’s two behind leader Matthew Fitzpatrick.

This is Scott’s fourth start in the new wraparound season, and he’s looking for his first top-15 finish. He did, however, have three top-10s in three playoff starts.

The 13-time PGA Tour winner is looking for his first title since going back-to-back in 2016 at the Honda and WGC-Cadillac Championship.

Everything you need to know about this weekend's Premier League action, all in one place.

Jump to: Will Mesut Ozil get a game for Arsenal? | Was that the start of a recovery or a false dawn for Manchester United? | How will Southampton recover from 9-0 | Fantasy tips | Stats of the weekend | Who replaces Willy Boly? | Match to watch | Norwich need a lot of luck | VAR due for another failure? | Predictions

THE WEEKEND'S BIG QUESTIONS

Will Mesut Ozil get a league game for Arsenal?

Could we detect a little softening of Unai Emery's resolve when he said he would consider including Mesut Ozil in his squad for Arsenal's game against Wolves this weekend? There is a little more clamour for the German to be brought in from the cold after his terrific hour or so against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. One of Arsenal's many problems has been an inability to pick holes in a defence, and for all his other flaws, Ozil reminded everyone at Anfield that he can still do that.

It would represent a climbdown from Emery, so he might view this as exposing a weakness, but given the way some of the Arsenal fanbase seem to have lost patience with him after last weekend's draw with Crystal Palace, it might be worth a try.

Was that the start of a recovery or a false dawn for Manchester United?

On a human level, it was pleasant to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer smiling after Manchester United's win over Norwich last weekend, but the necessary caveats should not only be made clear, but shouted: this was a Norwich team ravaged by injuries, second-bottom of the league, who had lost three of their previous four and had only kept one clean sheet all season.

So will that 3-1 victory at Carrow Road turn out to be the start of something more tangible, a recovery of sorts for United, or simply a game that even they couldn't fail to win? The form of Marcus Rashford and return of Anthony Martial will help, but this is still a deeply flawed United team who could be exposed by a Bournemouth side who look in good touch.

How will Southampton recover from 9-0?

The basic facts are that Southampton lost a game last weekend, but the reality is that their 9-0 evisceration at the hands of Leicester City could have lasting damage on the rest of their season. There is a theory that relegation might be preferable to the water-treading that has been happening at St Mary's in recent years, but that still feels like an extreme point of view, and of course nobody there wants a demotion to the Championship on their conscience.

They could really have done without two trips to Manchester City after such a loss, but they emerged from the first, on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup, at least with a little dignity, if not a positive result. Ralph Hasenhuttl's primary job this week will have been to piece his squad's morale back together, and we'll see how well he's done that when they step out on Saturday.

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FANTASY TIPS

Kieran Darcy has some tips for the weekend action. Read his full preview here and set your team lineup!

Must-have player: Sergio Aguero, Tier 1 forward

Despite being benched the past two weeks, Aguero still has eight goals this season -- one fewer than league leader Jamie Vardy, and Aguero has played 325 fewer minutes than the Englishman. Add in a favourable matchup with reeling Southampton and Aguero is a must start.

Worth considering: Neal Maupay, Tier 2 forward

Maupay scored his fourth goal of the season last week, is tied for seventh in the league with 29 shots, and will be at home against Norwich City, who have the worst defensive record in the league in terms of xG (expected goals) conceded.

Avoid at all costs: Harry Kane, Tier 1 forward

Kane scored against Liverpool last week, but it was fluky -- aided by a deflection and subsequent ricochet off the woodwork -- and it came on his only shot of the game, the fifth time in 10 league games he's finished with just one shot.

STATS OF THE WEEKEND

Information provided by ESPN Stats & Information

- Manchester United are seeking back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since defeating Crystal Palace and Southampton in February and March (streak of 19 PL matches). Their opponent this week, Bournemouth, will be a welcomed sight for United, the Red Devils boasting an 11-2-3 (W-L-D) record in the all-time series.

- Aston Villa host Liverpool this weekend looking to snap a long drought. The Villains have lost their last 12 matches against the Big 6 across all competitions and are winless in their last 18 against those foes. Villa's last win vs. a top-six side? April 2015 in the Premier League against Tottenham (1-0).

MAN TO WATCH

Whoever replaces Willy Boly for Wolves

There might be a few individual players more important to their teams than Willy Boly is to Wolves, but there won't be many. Boly had surgery this week on his fractured tibia, sustained before last weekend's game against Newcastle, and will be out for a few months, leaving Nuno Espirito Santo an interesting quandary at the back.

Last weekend at Newcastle he played Matt Doherty in his back three, an imperfect solution but one he apparently deemed preferable to choosing Jesus Vallejo, who has only started one league game this season, when Wolves conceded five against Chelsea. Ryan Bennett is another option, but he has been in and out of the team all season, and then there's Romain Saiss. Conor Coady is really the only certainty, and it will be fascinating to see who Nuno chooses to play either side of him.

THE GAME YOU'RE NOT PLANNING TO WATCH -- BUT SHOULD

Crystal Palace vs. Leicester City

It's a little counterintuitive to think that third vs sixth should be an under-the-radar game, but it still feels odd that those two teams are Leicester and Crystal Palace. Both sides are unexpectedly flying in this season's still nascent Premier League season, albeit in different ways: Leicester are the attacking free-wheelers who scored nine last weekend at Southampton, Palace the steady-Eddies who are in the top six despite having a negative goal difference. The varied styles could make for a terrific game.

THE TEAM THAT NEEDS A BIT OF LUCK

Norwich City

Not just a bit of luck: Norwich City could do with buckets of the stuff, such are the severity of their injury problems. They finished last weekend's game against Manchester United with three players limping around the pitch, who should really have been taken off but for the fact they had already made all three of their substitutions. Add those to the the six first-teamers already out, which includes their two first-choice centre-backs, and in part explains their dreadful defensive record (19th out of 20). Getting through their trip to Brighton intact would mark success this weekend.

ONE THING THAT WILL DEFINITELY HAPPEN

We'll all be talking about VAR again

Unless there's been a sudden re-think over the last few days, following the league-wide shambles of last weekend, then VAR will continue to be a complete mess and will continue to ruin Premier League games up and down the land. Before the bar was too high, then the bar was too low, and who knows where the bar even is now. In reality, they should throw the bar away, scrap VAR (except for maybe -- maybe -- offsides) and write the whole thing off as a bad job. Unfortunately, they won't. VAR is here to stay, and at this stage it's only about damage-limitation: how little can it make a mess of things, rather than how much it can improve the game.

PREDICTIONS

Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United

Brighton 3-1 Norwich

Arsenal 1-0 Wolves

Aston Villa 2-4 Liverpool

Manchester City 4-0 Southampton

Sheffield United 1-0 Burnley

West Ham 2-2 Newcastle United

Watford 0-4 Chelsea

Crystal Palace 2-3 Leicester City

Everton 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

New South Wales 7 for 274 (Solway 129*, Nevill 53, Sayers 6-55) v South Australia

Daniel Solway was forced to work harder than most for a Sheffield Shield debut. The habit he has developed for run-making served him well for New South Wales against South Australia as the 24-year old crafted an outstanding century in conditions friendly to seam bowling at Adelaide Oval to be the backbone of the Blues' innings.

There is no better exponent of moving the ball in Adelaide than Chadd Sayers, and figures of 6 for 55 demonstrated that this was a day ideally suited to his art, but Solway stood firm throughout, demonstrating a tight defence balanced with a strong range of shots, pouncing on anything wide of the off stump and also pulling and hooking the short ball with venom.

It was further proof of the ability Solway had shown in piling up runs for the NSW second XI and also Bankstown in club cricket. In his past nine second XI innings, Solway has compiled 751 runs at 83.4, capped with 195 not out against Western Australia's second XI at the start of this season.

NSW debutant Daniel Solway has moved into the 80s!

Watch live: https://t.co/vwwZKuHPLw #SAvNSW #SheffieldShield pic.twitter.com/PExEHLRTC3

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 1, 2019

Within the prolific scoring lies another tale, of early promotion, failure and then learning, growth and finally success. Having played first grade for Bankstown as far back as 2013-14, Solway hammered 930 runs at 77.5 the following summer to gain a NSW rookie contract for 2015-16. But as bowlers figured him out and he was exposed to the NSW system, Solway struggled for anything like the same returns for the next two years and fell back in the queue.

Not until 2017-18 did Solway find his way back to productivity, churning out 880 runs for Bankstown at 73.33 and duly returning to the Blues' outer fringes. Nonetheless he was compelled to make far more runs for the second chance, and looks to have grown into a top order batsman of substance.

Considerable skill was necessary to survive Sayers and company as Adelaide's drop-in pitch offered generous movement off the seam. Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin both had a stump sent cartwheeling when Sayers seamed the new ball between bat and pad.

Moises Henriques formed a promising stand with Solway before lunch but was pinned lbw by a Sayers nip-backer in the first over after resumption. Neither Matthew Gilkes nor Nick Bertus could last for long, leaving the NSW captain Peter Nevill to provide Solway with vital assistance.

They were able to add a studied 108 together, making the Redbacks pine for the second new ball, and allowing Solway to get to his century by bunting a quick single wide of midwicket from the bowling of Tom Andrews. Solway celebrated with great relief, but after Nevill was lbw and Trent Copeland bowled by the second new ball in Sayers' hands, he knuckled down for another key stand with Nathan Lyon to take the Blues beyond 250.

Selection had been a talking point for South Australia too prior to the match. Callum Ferguson was recalled at the expense of Jake Lehmann, who despite his own prolific scores in Adelaide grade cricket, has averaged 10.26 in 10 first-class matches since the start of 2019. Lehmann had made made just eight runs in three Shield innings for the Redbacks this season, albeit batting as high as No. 3 when he has customarily been at Nos. 4 or 5.

Victoria 127 and 162 for 6 (Tremain 5*, Harper 9*) lead Tasmania 226 (Wade 69, Bailey 41, Tremain 4-45) by 63 runs

Test aspirant Will Pucovski made his second low score of the match for Victoria as Tasmania cornered the visitors on another day bowling day in Hobart.

While Matthew Wade was able to reach 69, the highest score of the match so far, to enable Tasmania to scrounge a first innings lead of 99, the Victorians were again in early trouble when they batted a second time.

Travis Dean was caught behind and Pucovski lbw to Gabe Bell before the innings was eight overs old, and though Marcus Harris and the captain Peter Handscomb combined for a steadying stand, they were parted with the visitors only 20 runs in credit.

Without anyone going on to a major score, and Nic Maddinson's recent run of success ending when he was caught behind for 22 off the persevering Jackson Bird, the Victorians were left to limp to stumps 63 runs ahead with only four wickets in hand.

The wicketkeeper Sam Harper must marshall the tail effectively to give them any hope of avoiding a second outright defeat in succession.

Toss Australia chose to bowl v Sri Lanka

Aaron Finch won the toss and Australia opted to bowl first in the third and final T20I at the MCG. Finch believed the surface wouldn't play a big part but wanted to make first use of it with the ball.

Australia made two changes. Ben McDermott slotted in at No.4 to replace Glenn Maxwell, following his withdrawal to deal with mental health issues. Mitchell Starc also returns after missing the second game at the Gabba for his brother's wedding. He replaces Billy Stanlake.

Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga said that he wanted his young players to experience Australian conditions. Bhanuka Rajapaksa returned in place of Danushka Gunathilaka after being omitted in Brisbane. Shehan Jayasuriya and Lahiru Kumara were also brought in, with Niroshan Dickwella expected to open with Kusal Mendis.

Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt.), 3 Steve Smith, 4 Ben McDermott, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Adam Zampa

Sri Lanka: 1 Kusal Mendis, 2 Niroshan Dickwella, 3 Kusal Perera (wk), 4 Avishka Fernando, 5 Shehan Jayasuriya, 6 Oshada Fernando, 7 Bhanuka Rajapaksha, 8 Lakshan Sandakan, 9 Lasith Malinga (capt.), 10 Nuwan Pradeep, 11 Lahiru Kumara

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson's bowling action is legal again, the ICC confirmed, following an assessment in Loughborough on October 11.

Williamson had been reported during the Galle Test in August earlier this year. He bowled three overs of offspin in that game, conceding nine runs without taking a wicket. But now, following a test in an ICC-accredited bio-mechanics centre, it was found that the elbow extension of all his deliveries was within the permissible 15-degree level of tolerance.

This was the second time that Williamson's bowling action had come under scrutiny. He was reported in 2014 and had to make some changes before he could bowl in international cricket again.

Williamson is currently nursing a hip injury that had sidelined him from the ongoing five-match T20I series at home against England but, with the ICC clearing his action, he can bowl again when he returns to play for New Zealand.

James Vince already has a 50-over World Cup winners' medal in his possession and he is hoping a productive series in New Zealand can firm up his chances of having a crack at another in T20 cricket after being named Man of the Match in the series opener in Christchurch.

Vince stroked 59 off 38 balls to set up England's chase in the first T20I, seizing his opportunity to bat at No. 3 in the absence of several first-choice players. It was his maiden T20I fifty, coming almost four years since his debut, and a reminder of his talents after a summer in which he was part of the World Cup squad but managed a top-score of 43 from seven white-ball innings for England.

With England resting Jason Roy, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, Vince has a window in which to build on a decent, if sporadic, T20I record. He has reached double-figures in all nine of his outings, but has only played five times since the last T20 World Cup, in 2016.

ALSO READ: Vince seals victory after young guns impress

"The side's been so successful and dominant over the last three or four years, it's a tough first XI to break into,'' Vince said. "But any opportunities like this to push my case and hopefully try to be part of the squad, as I was this summer for the World Cup, is my aim.

"With some of the main guys missing, it would be nice to get a bit of a run in the side, post some scores and make some match-winning contributions."

Capped in all three formats, Vince has yet to fully establish himself in an England XI and he only won a recall to the ODI set-up ahead of the World Cup after Alex Hales was dropped for disciplinary issues. He featured three times during the tournament, scoring 26, 14 and 0 while covering for the injured Roy; he also claimed two catches as a substitute during England's memorable win in the final against New Zealand.

"To be honest, since the end of the English summer I've not had a huge amount of cricket," he said. "I had a warm-up game and a bit of time in the nets but I wasn't quite sure what nick I was in. But I'm pleased with the contribution and for the boys to get off to a winning start.

"The wicket was pretty good, I didn't think it was an absolute belter but there was not much in there, maybe a fraction on the slow side but a pretty true bounce, it came on reasonably well for the majority of it."

Although Vince was able to seal the chase himself, victory in Christchurch was wrapped up by Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings, as an experimental England side got off to an encouraging start. Despite speculation that Morgan might retire after securing the goal of winning a 50-over World Cup, his decision to continue playing ensures continuity as England switch focus to T20 under a new head coach in Chris Silverwood.

Morgan's presence will also be important as England look to asses a number of young players who might push for inclusion in Australia next year, with Sam Curran and Pat Brown among three debutants at Hagley Oval.

"What he's built over the last four years is incredible,'' Vince said of Morgan. "To take the team from where they were to winning the World Cup, I know he'd be a massive loss if he wasn't here, especially with a tour like this with lots of new guys coming in.

"His leadership is outstanding so he'll be great for the young guys here. Everyone's hoping that he carries on for as long as possible.''

Although he has not been involved in the Test side since England's last tour of New Zealand, in 2017-18, an ankle injury suffered in training by Joe Denly has opened up the possibility that Vince could be asked to stay on for the two-match series at the end of November.

"I think I've said it before, although it is a different format, runs in an England shirt are always going to help you," he said. "It's a good start and hopefully I can build on it and continue throughout the series and try to make an impact on it myself."

Rory McIlroy was rolling in Round 2 of the WGC-HSBC Champions. He had just birdied the par-4 fifth to grab the outright lead at Sheshan International Golf Club and added another at the par-3 sixth – his fourth consecutive birdie – to move two clear.

And then he hit the brakes. Or, more appropriately, he started to go awry.

“You start missing a couple of fairways, missing a couple of greens and this course all of a sudden gets pretty tricky,” McIlroy said. “It’s easy from the fairways, but I sort of veered off them a little bit around the middle of the round.”

McIlroy made only one birdie over an 11-hole stretch, compared to two bogeys, and found himself three off the pace with one hole to play. Thankfully that final hole is a par 5.

McIlroy laced two big shots and converted a 3-foot eagle putt to wrap up a second consecutive 5-under 67. At 10 under par, he is one behind leader Matthew Fitzpatrick.

“Sixty-seven around here, I mean, I think after the way I started, 4 under through 6, I was thinking maybe shoot a better score than I shot yesterday,” McIlroy said.

“But it was obviously nice to finish the way I did, especially after the mess I nearly made at [No.] 16.”

Yes, the round nearly came unraveled at that par 4. McIlroy pulled his tee shot deep into the trees and had to hit a provisional. His third shot missed the fairway, but he hit his fourth shot inside 10 feet and converted the bogey putt.

As it is, McIlroy is in position to win for the fourth time on Tour in 2019, over the course of two seasons. He wrapped up his 2018-19 Player-of-the-Year campaign with a victory at the Tour Championship. He began the new one with a tie for third at the Zozo Championship.

But unlike last week in Japan, McIlroy is squarely in the mix entering weekend play in China. He just needs to make sure he keeps it on the straight and narrow.

“I would expect [the course] to firm up a little up going into the weekend, which would make it a tough test.” McIlroy said. “I still think there are birdies out there, you’ve got four par 5s and a couple of shorter par 4s.

“Game plan is, try and keep it on the fairways and from there the course is pretty scoreable.”

Worcestershire and England seamer Pat Brown will head to the BBL next month to join the Melbourne Stars and replace Dale Steyn when his stint ends in early January.

His first game is likely to be against Sydney Thunder on January 8 and he is available for eight group games in 18 days before the knockout stages if the Stars reach that far.

Although just 21, Brown has a burgeoning reputation in T20 following two successful seasons for Worcestershire in the T20 Blast. He made his England debut in the first T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.

The wicket he took in that match was his 50th in T20 cricket in 37 matches at an average of 19.90. His economy rate is 8.15 but that is more impressive given he often operates in tough overs at the death.

"I've signed for the last eight games, replacing Dale Steyn, an absolute legend, so no big shoes to fill there then," Brown told the Worcestershire website. "It's going to be nice to test and challenge myself in different conditions against different players and as an overseas player.

"I will go out fairly early, a couple of weeks early, to get bedded in and trained up ready."

Before the BBL, Brown will play the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament for Karnataka Tuskers following the series in New Zealand.

The Stars' other overseas player is Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane. Glenn Maxwell is the captain although his participation is uncertain following the decision to step away from the game for mental health reasons.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- On Tuesday, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was asked if he was OK with not getting much of the attention for his team's unblemished start.

Garoppolo smiled, shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I'm all right with being undefeated, yeah."

Two days later, Garoppolo found himself in the middle of the Niners' locker room being showered by his teammates with chants of, "JIM-MY, JIM-MY, JIM-MY" after helping the Niners not only remain unbeaten by virtue of their 28-25 win against the Arizona Cardinals, but also silence, at least for one night, those questioning whether he could carry the freight when the defense and running game aren't firing on all cylinders.

Not that Garoppolo was too concerned about the outside questions.

"It doesn't bother me," Garoppolo said. "Most of the people saying the stuff are just people, so it's their opinion. You can't think too much about that stuff. It's not going to change who I am as a quarterback."

With the win, the Niners improved to 8-0 on the season for just the second time in franchise history -- joining the 1990 squad. They also joined the New England Patriots as the only unbeaten teams this season.

Garoppolo, who was traded to San Francisco from New England exactly two years ago on Halloween, put together perhaps the best start of his career to get the Niners there.

With the Cardinals loading the box to stop the run and having success, Shanahan put the game in Garoppolo's hands. Thursday's game was the first this season in which the Niners had more passing attempts (37) than rushing tries (31).

Garoppolo finished 28-of-37 for 317 yards with a career-high four touchdown passes, no interceptions and a passer rating of 136.9, also a career high.

"He played great today," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "He made a lot of plays in rhythm and made a lot of off-schedule plays. ... I thought Jimmy played a hell of a game. His best game yet, probably."

Just as important as the touchdowns, Garoppolo delivered on third down repeatedly, including on a pivotal final drive as the Niners put the pesky Cardinals away. He hit receiver Emmanuel Sanders for 16 yards on third-and-11 from Arizona's 25 and tight end Ross Dwelley for 11 yards on third-and-4 after scrambling out of danger to keep that drive going and end the game.

Garoppolo finished 12-of-14 for 159 yards and three touchdowns on third down. Nine of his 12 completions moved the chains or went for a touchdown.

"That's usually where quarterbacks earn their money," Shanahan said. "You can do a lot of things on first and second down. You can mix in run or pass to even out the game, but on third down, that pass rush is coming. They always have their best coverages and blitzes called. You need a good guy back there. Everyone knows how well he can throw, but he was on tonight throwing and he got to the right spots, and when it wasn't there, he made plays with his legs."

With the four touchdown throws in the first three quarters, Garoppolo became the first Niners quarterback to throw that many scores in the opening three quarters of a regular-season game since Jeff Garcia did it in 2003 against the Cardinals.

Garoppolo's fourth touchdown pass was one of his best throws of the night, dropping it perfectly over Arizona defenders in the corner of the end zone to wideout Dante Pettis for the score.

Although he still put together one of his best statistical performances, Garoppolo's stat line could have been even bigger were it not for drops such as receiver Deebo Samuel's in the end zone and another in the fourth quarter on a screen to running back Tevin Coleman that might have gone for a big gain.

Regardless, Garoppolo's effort was just enough to get the Niners to 8-0 as they survived their toughest test since Week 3. The victory puts them with the Patriots in some promising company. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this is the fourth time in the Super Bowl era that multiple teams have started undefeated through eight games. In each of the previous three instances, at least one of those teams made the Super Bowl, and in 2009, both teams to do so -- the Saints and Colts -- met in the Super Bowl.

The win also bolstered Garoppolo's career record, moving it to 16-2 in 18 starts. Garoppolo is the fifth quarterback in NFL history to win at least 16 of his first 18 starts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau data. He joined Daryle Lamonica, Ben Roethlisberger, Dan Marino and Roger Staubach in that group. He's now 14-2 in his career with the Niners.

"He's pretty good," tight end George Kittle said. "I don't know why people don't think he is. He makes some pretty gutsy throws out there, doesn't he? Goodness gracious ... I can't say enough about how he brings us along. Whether it's on the sideline or in the huddle, you know the leadership that he has. The fire that he has, too, just kind of, he gets the people going. And just to see him make those plays, allow him to get those people off his back that say, "Hey, maybe he's not you know, what we think he is." Everyone in this building and in our locker room knows what he is. It's fun to see that."