- England have won four of their last five Tests at The Oval
- Australia have won a Test match at The Oval as recently as last month
- Recommended bet: England to win the fifth Test

England and Australia head for The Oval for the fifth and final Test with the fate of the Ashes decided but still plenty on the line.

Ben Stokes' men, bitterly disappointed that the weather almost certainly ambushed their hopes of squaring the series at Old Trafford at the weekend, will be desperate to go out on a high.

The Aussies, of course, have done what they came here to do and retain the famous urn – now they want to sign off by putting England firmly in their place.

Team news

England wasted no time naming an unchanged side for the final Test at The Oval.

Having bossed the fourth Test in Manchester only to be denied a result by the rain, captain Stokes said there was absolutely no need to make any changes.

Australia's decision not to play a spinner at Old Trafford backfired which means Todd Murphy can expect a start in the series finale. Cameron Green is the most likely to make way with Mitchell Starc and Mitch Marsh having proved their fitness, though Josh Hazlewood could also be under threat.

The Aussie selectors could jettison both Green and Hazlewood and give Michael Neser a first chance in the series.

The stats

England have won four of the last five Test matches they have played at The Oval.

However, Australia have more recent memories of winning a Test there, having beaten India in the World Test Final in June.

The average first-innings score by the team batting first is 346 while the side who bat first have won 38% of Test matches played at The Oval, compared to 29% of teams who bowled first.

Prediction

England are smarting, properly smarting, having been denied the chance of a series-levelling Test win in Manchester by heavy rain.

But they also ought to be smarting at the opportunities they let slip in the first two Tests, at Edgbaston and Lord's, where winning chances were turned down.

The fact is that England have enjoyed the rub of the green in terms of tosses – Stokes has won all four – and conditions to bowl in. Yet they still find themselves 2-1 down in the series.

On the flip side, what that means is that England are playing generally the better cricket, are full of confidence and therefore represent a great bet to win at The Oval, against an Aussie side who look out on their feet.

England have too many match-winners in their batting line-ups, too many players who will go big. The Aussies still cannot get the best out of David Warner and even with an extended top order in Manchester looked second best.

And Engand's seam attack looks more potent. Mark Wood is the one real pace asset who is scaring the Aussies to death and he's getting supreme support from Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes.

England also have a spin option which Australia haven't since Nathan Lyon's injury. And at The Oval that could prove critical.

The weather forecast doesn't look anywhere near as apocalyptic as it was in Manchester and a few short breaks shouldn't hold up England given the pace at which they go about their business.

Back England to win the fifth Test at 13/10 with LiveScore Bet