London Spirit Men and Manchester Super Giants Men had identical records of three wins and five defeats in The Hundred Men last summer.
Both teams will be setting their sights higher this season and Thursday's clash at Lord's should be an excellent contest.
Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow have been signed to bolster the Spirit's batting unit and the Super Giants are captained by South Africa international Aiden Markram.
London Spirit Men v Manchester Super Giants Men Tips Summary
Best Bet - Jos Buttler to be top Manchester Super Giants batter @ 11/4
Alternative Bet - Manchester Super Giants to hit most sixes @ 13/10
Bet Builder - Josh Tongue 1+ wicket, Jonny Bairstow over 19.5 runs & Liam Livingstone to hit most sixes for London Spirit @ 11/1
London Spirit Men v Manchester Super Giants Men Prediction
Best Bet: Jos Buttler to be top Manchester Super Giants batter @ 11/4
Jos Buttler helped England seal an ODI series victory over India at Lord's last weekend and he returns to the venue with Manchester Super Giants on Thursday.
Buttler slammed an unbeaten 41 from just 13 balls as England racked up 387-3 and he looks a worthy favourite to top-score for the Super Giants.
His last T20I innings was a blistering 131 against world champions India at the Rose Bowl and he had another solid IPL campaign for Gujarat Titans this year.
Buttler was the leading runscorer in the IPL in 2022, scoring four centuries in 17 innings, and has passed 500 runs in each of the last two seasons.
He also has a fine record in The Hundred, reaching 50 in eight of his 25 knocks for the Manchester franchise, and he should make a big contribution in his side's opening game.
Alternative Bet: Manchester Super Giants to hit most sixes @ 13/10
Buttler cracked eight sixes from only 64 balls in this month's T20I century against India but he is not the only big hitter in the Super Giants' squad.
New Zealand opener Tim Seifert has hit 52 maximums in his last 26 T20I innings, including five against India in March's T20 World Cup final.
And Heinrich Klaasen, a prolific IPL power-hitter, struck 17 sixes from just 106 balls in his first Hundred campaign in 2023.
London Spirit Men v Manchester Super Giants Men Bet Builder Tip
Josh Tongue 1+ wicket
Jonny Bairstow over 19.5 runs
Liam Livingstone to hit most sixes for London Spirit
Pays 11/1
Manchester Super Giants fast bowler Josh Tongue took seven wickets in his first four T20Is for England against India. He can extend his impressive record in The Hundred, having claimed 21 wickets in 11 career appearances.
Jonny Bairstow averaged 35 for Welsh Fire last season and should be backed to reach 20 on his London Spirit debut.
London captain Liam Livingstone is The Hundred's record six-hitter and he cleared the ropes 35 times in 10 T20 Blast innings for Lancashire this summer.
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Key Match Stats
London Spirit have lost their last three completed matches against Manchester Super Giants
Spirit captain Liam Livingstone has hit the most sixes (71) in the history of The Hundred
London Spirit spinner Adam Zampa has conceded only 394 runs from 330 balls in his Hundred career
Manchester Super Giants have lost six of their last eight away fixtures
Super Giants paceman Josh Tongue took 14 wickets in six games last summer
Manchester batter Heinrich Klaasen has struck 120 sixes in 60 IPL innings
Tactics, Form and Team News
London Spirit Men have a strong selection of all-rounders and Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, David Willey and big-money signing James Coles should all feature on Thursday.
Former Australia fast bowler AJ Tye has been added to the squad after batter Adam Hose was ruled out due to injury.
Predicted lineup: 1 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 2 Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 3 James Rew, 4 Liam Livingstone (c), 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 James Coles, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 David Willey, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Tymal Mills, 11 Adam Zampa.
Manchester Super Giants Men have plenty of spin options so Liam Dawson, Noor Ahmad and Tom Hartley are competing for places in their bowling attack.
Paul Walter and James Sales, a T20 Blast winner with Northamptonshire, are vying for the seam-bowling all-rounder's spot.
Predicted lineup: 1 Tim Seifert, 2 Aiden Markram (c), 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Leus du Plooy, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 Paul Walter, 7 Liam Dawson, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Josh Tongue, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Sonny Baker.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
