The Punjab Kings almost flipped their entire lineup entering the competition but their campaign wasn’t too different from last year. They’ve struggled for consistency and you can see that in the situation they’re in right now. They can practically afford to lose just one game and with the next few games coming up it won’t be easy. The Kings are currently seventh on the leaderboard with 10 points from as many games. Going forward, they would not only need to rack up some points, but also improve their net run rate of -0.229, which could come in handy when things get tight. Losing here would put them in a difficult position and they will definitely want to avoid that in this match. We saw the Kings make some adjustments to their batting order in the last game, with Jonny Bairstow leading the opening order with Shikhar Dhawan. Although the Punjab Kings ended up winning the match, Bairstow’s promotion didn’t really prove to be the solution they were looking for. We expect them to stick with the change as Mayank Agarwal is a better spin player and therefore better equipped for mid-overs. On paper, Punjab Kings have an excellent site with all the bases covered. Shikhar Dhawan has played the anchor role beautifully lately, while Bhanuka Rajapaksha and Liam Livingstone have been great representatives of middle-over enforcers. Much would depend on how the middle order performs for them, especially given the depth or lack of it in the King’s batting order. The Kings also rely a little too heavily on Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada for bowling. Despite being frugal, Arshdeep has not picked up wickets. Rabada, on the other hand, was among the wickets but was a bit too expensive. With Rahul Chahar’s form faltering, the onus lies on Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada to lead the Kings’ bowling attack against one of the strongest hitters in the competition. Overall, Punjab Kings rely heavily on the people showing up and it was evident how their games went. They would need their match winners to make a big contribution here and when that happens the royals will have their work cut out.
This season Monaco also managed to pass the group stage in the Europa League, where the team received the right to play in the playoffs. Already the first stage was the last for the Monegasques. The duel against Braga ended in defeat. The club had a good run in the tournament distance of the French Cup, where the “red-whites” knocked out “Lance” and “Amiens” from the tournament, after which in the semi-finals the southerners failed to cope with “Nantes” in the penalty shootout. In the Ligue1 championship the Monegasques have 18 wins and eight peaceful outcomes after 35 rounds, which brought 62 points and the fourth position. The attack line of the guests looks very worthy, which differed 57 times. It is impossible not to note an open series of victories. Monaco won seven fights in a row. In the last two rounds Philippe Clement’s men took turns beating Saint-Etienne (4:1) and Angers (2:0). Today will not be able to play Diatta, Martins and Fabergas, who has a muscle injury. More today football predictions from the experts can be obtained from the link provided.
