Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) will kickstart the proceedings of the double-header Saturday when they square off in Match 42 of Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

KKR will be looking to bounce back in style after their eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). DC will also be eager to make amends following their loss against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their last game.

As it stands, KKR is still in the best position to lock up the fourth place. It has one win more than all of its competitors and could extend that lead further with a win in this match. It is not going to be easy, however.

KKR is likely to be without Andre Russell who picked up a minor injury. Sunil Narine could make a comeback after being cleared by the IPL but how that affects his bowling remains to be seen.

Its batting is a big concern. Shubman Gill has been sedate at the top of the order and seems to be under pressure to be more aggressive. Rahul Tripathi has looked out of his depth against genuine pace, something he will come up against DC.

Nitish Rana has been a shadow of his best self this season and the senior pair of Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan have not set the IPL alight either. KKR is struggling with its batting and is going to go up against the best bowling attack of IPL 2020 in the next match.

The bowling for KKR has got a boost after adding Lockie Ferguson to the playing eleven. However, he has been a lone warrior for the team in their recent two matches. Pat Cummins seems to be struggling to pick wickets, Prasidh Krishna has been pedestrian, and Kuldeep Yadav is short of confidence.

DC's batting has been misfiring for some time now and it is a concern. Dhawan's brilliant form has covered up the poor returns from Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant. It is only a matter of time before Dhawan fails in one of the matches and that could test DC out like never before.

There is no doubt in our mind that Prithvi Shaw is going to be under pressure to keep his place with a player Ajinkya Rahane on the bench. Every single batsman apart from Shikhar Dhawan needs to step up.

Perhaps playing in Abu Dhabi, a venue where the fast bowlers have got some help, will help them since they all like the ball coming on to the bat.

Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, and Axar Patel give DC a lot of power in the middle-order. This is an area that DC has an advantage over KKR, especially if Russell continues to miss out.

The real advantage for DC is its bowling. We expect a full-strength bowling lineup with Rabada, Nortje, Axar, and Ashwin in there. The fifth bowler could see a change and we think Harshal Patel may make a comeback in place of Tushar Deshpande.

The conditions in Abu Dhabi have been helpful for the fast bowlers and we think DC will enjoy these conditions much more than KKR.

While both the teams are currently in the top half of the points table, a win will help them strengthen their position.

Weather Forecast
The maximum temperature will be 34 degrees while the night temperatures will be 24 degrees. Wind speed will be about 19 kmph and humidity will be around 33 per cent. There is no forecast of rain.

Pitch Report
The last five matches in Abu Dhabi have been won by a team batting second. It offers some bounce and pace to the players that allow an even contest between the bat and ball. Since this is a day game, the pitch will be dry and there will be no moisture whatsoever. The fast-bowlers can use the conditions to their advantage while the batsmen can score freely too if they get their eye in. A score of around 170 should be seen as par batting first.

Toss Prediction
The team that wins the toss is going to want to bat first. The bowlers will be in the game for the duration of the match and having a good total on the board may be a significant advantage.

Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 26
Kolkata Knight Riders: 13
Delhi Capitals: 12
No Result: 1

Approaching Milestones:
Andre Russell needs 8 and 66 runs respectively to complete 1500 IPL runs and 1500 runs for KKR in IPL.
Rahul Tripathi needs 73 runs to complete 1000 IPL runs.
Rishabh Pant needs 74 runs and 1 six respectively to complete 2000 IPL runs and 100 IPL sixes.
Prithvi Shaw requires 5 fours to complete 100 IPL fours.

Likely XIs:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(capt), Rishabh Pant(wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje/Daniel Sams, Tushar Deshpande

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell/Tom Banton, Pat Cummins/Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav

Players to Watch Out For:
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Lockie Ferguson

Match Odds:
Delhi Capitals: 1.66
Kolkata Knight Riders: 2.22

SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Delhi Capitals

IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 2.75
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 3.75
Delhi Capitals - 4
Kings XI Punjab - 11
Kolkata Knight Riders - 13
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 17
Rajasthan Royals - 41
Chennai Super Kings - 151

Match Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Time: 3.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP