Europe captain Padraig Harrington has decided to pair Rory McIlroy with Ian Poulter once more, after their poor foursomes showing on Friday.

The pair will face Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa in the anchor fourball, with Europe on the brink of defeat, trailing 9-3 after the first three sessions.

McIlroy was rested for the first time in his Ryder Cup career as Europe again went down 3-1 in the morning session.

A 4-0 win on Saturday evening would breathe life into hopes of retaining the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.

Shane Lowry is back in action, teeing it up with Tyrrell Hatton in the opening match of the fourballs, the Offaly man up against the US pairing of Tony Finau and Harris English once again.

Elsewhere, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth will take on Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, while Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau team up again to take on Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood.

Harrington defended his decision to leave McIlroy out of a Ryder Cup session for the first time as his side fought back from a nightmare start to day two at Whistling Straits before eventually losing steam.

Trailing 6-2 after the opening day Europe desperately needed to win the morning session, but went down 3-1 in the foursomes to trail 9-3 heading into the afternoon fourballs.

McIlroy had played 26 straight matches since making his debut at Celtic Manor in 2010, but lost twice on the opening day - alongside Poulter and Lowry - without even reaching the 16th hole.

"Rory, we need him for the singles," Harrington told Sky Sports. "Pushing him out this morning, making him play five times, would be an awful lot. Clearly you're going to see him this afternoon.

"If we are going to win tomorrow we are going to need a big singles day. We have to keep that in mind."

Evening fourballs

1826 Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton v Tony Finau and Harris English

1842 Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia v Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth

1858 Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland v Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau

1914 Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter v Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa