The in-form Welsh Fire head to the stuttering Manchester Super Giants on Wednesday afternoon for a 3pm start at Old Trafford in the sixth round of matches in the men's Hundred competition.
The Super Giants started this year's Hundred in excellent style winning their first two matches convincingly, however, they followed that up with three defeats on the spin and are in desperate need of victory on home turf against the Fire.
Anything but a win for the home side will see them in danger of missing out on a top-three spot and a place in the knockout stage of the competition.
The Super Giants are currently eight points behind their visitors and, with four points for a win, losing to the Fire will see their chances of a spot in the Eliminator all but disappear.
The Fire have been in fine form this season, winning their first two matches before a slip-up against Trent Rockets, but they rebounded from that heavy defeat to win their next two matches to leave them with four wins and one defeat from five matches.
Manchester Super Giants v Welsh Fire Tips Summary
Best Bet - Welsh Fire to win @ 8/11
Alternative Bet - Jos Buttler 2+ sixes @ 6/4
Bet Builder - Matt Short 20+ runs, Sam Cook 2+ wickets & Tim Seifert 1+ sixes @ 13/2
Manchester Super Giants v Welsh Fire Prediction
Best Bet: Welsh Fire to win @ 8/11
The Fire head to Old Trafford in high spirits, having bounced back from their lone defeat in The Hundred in style.
They lost by a whopping nine wickets with 28 balls to spare against the Rockets, but recovered well with two convincing wins over Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave to sit second in the standings on net run rate.
Sixteen points from their opening five matches is a healthy return and two wins from their remaining three matches will confirm a top-three spot and a place in the knockout matches, with one win likely to be enough given their competitors must play each other in the run-in.
Given the Super Giants' form has fallen off a cliff after starting the competition so well with back-to-back wins, the Fire should be too strong for their hosts and can take all four points from their visit to Manchester.
Alternative Bet: Jos Buttler 2+ sixes @ 6/4
Jos Buttler has hit nine sixes in his two matches at Old Trafford for the Super Giants this season.
The England power hitter is clearly comfortable at his home ground in The Hundred, with nine of his 14 sixes coming in Manchester.
He is second only to Mitch Marsh when it comes to maximums this season, with the Aussie all-rounder having smashed 16 so far, while Buttler is the second-highest run scorer in the competition with 226 runs, just 14 behind fellow England batter Ben Duckett.
Buttler's familiarity with the dimensions and pitch at Old Trafford gives him an edge when playing at home, so backing the former England captain to hit two or more sixes looks like a very attractive proposition in this clash.
Manchester Super Giants v Welsh Fire Bet Builder Tip
Matt Short 20+ runs
Sam Cook 2+ wickets
Tim Seifert 1+ sixes
Pays 13/2
Matt Short is far from the most famous name in the Fire's international-packed team, with Joe Root, Phil Salt and Rachin Ravindra the established stars, but the Australian has been the most consistent of the lot this season.
In his four innings, Short has only failed to hit 20 or more runs on one occasion and has quietly gone about his business in competent style.
The opener hit an unbeaten 60 last time out, following on from 36 in his previous knock. Backing him to beat the 20+ line once more is the anchor of this three-fold.
As with Short, Sam Cook is behind bigger names in the Fire's team, but the seamer is having a consistent time with the ball and ended with 3-14 in his last match.
Cook's control and ability to nip it both ways will provide a challenge for any batter and the England international is capable of taking two or more wickets in this clash.
Rounding out this bet builder is backing Tim Seifert to smash one or more sixes. The Kiwi is nicknamed Bam Bam for a reason and his ability to hit maximums is worth backing in this match.
Seifert has hit six in five matches for the Super Giants this season and, given his role opening the batting and being charged with getting his side off to a fast start, backing the New Zealander to smash one or more sixes appeals.
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Key Match Stats
Welsh Fire have won their last three matches against the Manchester Super Giants
The Super Giants have lost their last three matches
The Fire have won back-to-back matches, and have secured victory in four of their five fixtures this season
Super Giants' Jos Buttler is the tournament's second-highest run scorer with 226 in five innings
Rachin Ravindra is the Fire's leading run scorer this year with 145 in five knocks
Sonny Baker is the joint third highest wicket taker this season with seven from five matches
Tactics, Form & Team News
The Super Giants made an impressive start to life in The Hundred winning their opening two matches, but their form has disappeared with three straight defeats.
However, given the quality of players available to them their starting XI is likely to be consistent with the management backing their stars to come good eventually.
Expected Manchester Super Giants XI: Aiden Makram, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Tim Seifert, Heinrich Klaasen, Leus Du Plooy, Tom Moores, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Noor Ahmad, Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker.
The Fire are unlikely to make changes after consecutive victories sees them sit second in the table, level on points with the Rockets. Phil Salt will captain and lead from the front once more with a deep batting line-up to follow.
Expected Welsh Fire XI: Phil Salt (c & wk), Matt Short, Joe Root, Rachin Ravindra, Jordan Cox, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Marco Jansen, Ben Kellaway, Chris Woakes, Lockie Ferguson, Sam Cook.
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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.
