London Spirit and Southern Brave enjoyed victories in their last matches in The Hundred, but both have work to do to make the knockout stage as they prepare to clash at Lord's on Saturday evening.
The Spirit moved to a 1-2 record with a seven-wicket victory over MI London on Wednesday, while the Brave desperately needed a win and duly delivered with a 12-run triumph at home to Birmingham Phoenix on Thursday.
However, neither side has much margin for error and there is nothing between them in the match betting for Saturday's contest at the Home of Cricket.
London Spirit Men v Southern Brave Men Tips Summary
Best Bet - London Spirit to win @ 10/11
Alternative Bet - Liam Livingstone top London Spirit batter @ 7/2
Bet Builder - Highest Opening Partnership - Southern Brave, Lhuan-dre Pretorius to Score 2+ Sixes, Adil Rashid to take 1+ Wickets @ 8/1
London Spirit Men v Southern Brave Men Prediction
Best Bet: London Spirit to win @ 10/11
It has taken some time for London Spirit to get going under new head coach Andy Flower, but it was hard not to be impressed by their performance against MI London on Wednesday as they chased down a target of 165 with 11 balls to spare at The Oval.
The Spirit are unfortunate not to have a better record in The Hundred - they suffered a four-wicket defeat against Trent Rockets, who scrambled home with two balls to spare, in their second match.
Their batting firepower could prove the difference in what looks like a close game on paper.
Jonny Bairstow is not the force of old but his opening partner Lhuan-dre Pretorius and England's Liam Livingstone have both impressed, while Pretorius' fellow South Africa international Dewald Brevis has also caught the eye.
Alternative Bet: Liam Livingstone top London Spirit batter @ 7/2
Liam Livingstone has built a lucrative career as a franchise powerhouse and the Spirit skipper looks a solid option in the market to be their top batter.
The 32-year-old scored 456 runs at 50.66 for Lancashire in this year's T20 Blast and has made a strong start to The Hundred, cracking 69 against the Super Giants and 33 against the Rockets.
London Spirit Men v Southern Brave Men Bet Builder Tip
- Highest Opening Partnership - Southern Brave
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius to Score 2+ Sixes
- Adil Rashid to take 1+ Wickets
Pays 8/1
The Spirit have failed to accrue the highest opening partnership in any of their three matches this season and, with Jonny Bairstow in patchy form, they could be vulnerable early.
His opening partner Lhuan-dre Pretorius has looked much more assured and, having nailed 10 sixes in the competition already, he is worth backing to clear the ropes at least twice on Saturday.
Adil Rashid is still a leading exponent of white-ball spin bowling and the England ace can add to the five scalps he has taken from four matches.
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Key Match Stats
- Both teams have won one match in The Hundred this year, although the Brave (1-3) have played one more match
- Liam Livingstone tops the runscoring charts for the Spirit with 118 runs from three innings
- No Southern Brave player has reached the 100-run mark this season
- London Spirit have failed to post the highest opening partnership in all three matches
- Southern Brave all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has taken six wickets from 55 balls in The Hundred this season
Tactics, Form and Team News
London Spirit named an unchanged team for the win over MI London and could opt for the same XI again following that triumph over their city rivals.
Predicted London Spirit XI: 1 Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Liam Livingstone (c), 4 James Rew, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 James Coles, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 David Willey, 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Adam Zampa.
Tom Abell replaced Nikhil Chaudhary for the Brave's last outing and it remains to be seen whether the Australian has recovered from the finger injury which saw him ruled out.
Predicted Southern Brave XI: 1 Jamie Smith (wk), 2 Ben McKinney, 3 Tom Abell, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Chris Jordan (c), 8 Saif Zaib, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Luke Wood, 11 Adil Rashid.
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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.
