Central and West Group winner Northants host Gloucestershire in the T20 Blast quarter-finals on Wednesday with a spot at Saturday's Finals Day up for grabs.
Both teams have had patches of superb form this season but head into the quarter-finals having seen things dip of late.
Northants excelled in the early part of the group stage as they romped to top spot before winning just one of their final four matches.
However, this comes with the caveat of progress already being assured, so perhaps there was a slight dip in motivation to contend with and saving energy for the business end of the tournament.
Gloucestershire went through as one of the two best third-placed teams after four defeats in their last five group matches saw them rather stumble over the line.
The two sides met just two weeks ago with Northants comfortable winners in a high-scoring affair.
Gloucestershire racked up 184/2 off their 20 overs before Northants made light work of it, knocking it off in 17.2 overs with juts two wickets down.
That was their second victory this summer over Gloucestershire, the first coming in late May when they ran out winners by seven wickets.
Form and recent results suggest another Northants victory as they look to seal their spot at Edgbaston for Finals Day on Saturday.
Northants v Gloucestershire Tips Summary
Best Bet - Northants to win @ 8/13
Alternative Bet - Chris Lynn to hit 2+ sixes @ 13/8
Bet Builder - Dawid Malan 30+ runs, Marchant de Lange 1+ wicket, James Sales Northants top bowler @ 14/1
Northants v Gloucestershire Prediction
Best Bet: Northants to win @ 8/13
Northants should be too strong for Gloucestershire in this quarter-final clash, as they proved in the group stage when coming out victors in both of their matches.
They ran out comfortable winners in both matches by eight and seven wickets and can prove their superiority once more in this tie and book a spot at Edgbaston for the Finals Day on Saturday.
Allrounder James Sales has led the way with the ball, taking 20 wickets with an impressive strike rate of 10.65.
Sales is the joint-third highest wicket-taker this season behind only Scott Currie with 21 and Hasan Ali’s 25 victims.
Chris Lynn has dominated with the bat, scoring 457 runs in 10 innings, averaging 50.77 in this summer's Blast, putting him fifth in the run-scoring charts.
Backing Northants to click back into gear and take the win here appeals.
Alternative Bet: Chris Lynn to hit 2+ sixes @ 13/8
Chris Lynn has been in excellent form with the bat for Northants this season, averaging over 50 on his way to 457 runs.
He has also hit the second most sixes in the tournament with 25 in 10 innings, behind only Aneurin Donald’s 37 and Liam Livingstone’s 35.
Lynn’s powerful style has seen him capped 22 times in white-ball cricket for Australia, and you can see why when watching him play in the Blast competition.
He has taken a few prisoners when at the crease, and backing Lynn to hit two or more sixes looks a shrewd move.
Yorkshire v Somerset Bet Builder Tip
Dawid Malan 30+ runs
Marchant de Lange 1+ wicket
James Sales Northants top bowler
Pays @ 14/1
Dawid Malan may not still be an England player, but he is still an international-class batter and were it not for his retirement from England duty in 2024 would likely still be in the frame for the national team.
The former world number one-ranked T20 batter has 202 runs in five appearances in this season's Blast, averaging over 50, and can make light work of the 30-run margin given to him here.
Malan’s teammate Marchant de Lange has taken 13 wickets in 12 matches with best figures of 2/9.
The former South African international is in his fourth season at Gloucestershire and has taken 34 wickets in 33 matches, so he can be backed to continue at just over a wicket a game.
To round off this three-fold, we are backing James Sales to be Northants' top wicket-taker in this clash.
Sales has been in phenomenal form this Blast with 20 wickets to his name at a strike rate of 10.65.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
Gloucestershire's Dawid Malan is one of only seven men to have scored more than 5000 T20 Blast runs
Northants' David Willey is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Blast history with 195 to his name
Northants won the Central and West group with nine wins and three defeats from their 12 matches
Gloucestershire have lost both their games with Northants this season
Chris Lynn is Northants' leading run scorer this summer with 457 from 10 innings
D'Arcy Short leads the way with the bat for Gloucestershire this season with 429 in 12 innings
Tactics, Form & Team News
Northants are not expected to make wholesale changes to their team despite tailing off in the latter end of the group stage, but Sales, who sat out the final group match, is sure to come back into the side.
The all-rounder is Northants' leading wicket-taker in the Blast this season and is assured of his place in the team.
Calvin Harrison could be the one to miss out with Luke Procter impressing with both bat and ball last time out, scoring 33 off 25 and taking 1/25.
Expected Northants XI: Chris Lynn, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Nathan McSweeney, David Willey (c), Saif Zaib, Louis Kimber, Lewis McManus (wk), Luke Procter, James Sales, Ben Sanderson, George Scrimshaw.
Gloucestershire have had a settled side over the past few weeks and their XI is expected to be the same team that turned out in their previous two matches.
They have a nice balance between bat and ball with several all-rounders in the mix and will be backing their regular XI to take on Northants this week.
Expected Gloucestershire XI: D'Arcy Short (c), Dawid Malan, Miles Hammond, Jack Taylor, Kamran Dhariwal, James Bracey (wk), Graeme van Buuren, Liam Scott, Matt Taylor, Merchant de Lange, James Haynes.
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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.
