Big picture: LSG close to playoffs spot
Placed third currently with 15 points, Lucknow Super Giants' road to the playoffs is a straightforward one: win against Kolkata Knight Riders and sail through. And if Chennai Super Kings lose to Delhi Capitals, LSG could even secure a top-two finish. But if they lose, they will require at least one of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore to lose.
LSG are playing away from home but they are coming off back-to-back wins after just one victory in the four completed matches before that. Marcus Stoinis led the way with match-defining performances in both those wins, while there were handy contributions from stand-in captain Krunal Pandya and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, too.
As for KKR, there's only a small chance that they can squeeze into the playoffs. Their negative net run-rate - made worse by the thumpings from Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at home - makes things even more complicated for them. They not only need a huge win but also a number of other results to go their way.
Their win over CSK in the reverse fixture in Chennai was a rare occasion of them clicking with both bat and ball in the same game. They will hope for an encore, and then pray.
Form guide
Kolkata Knight Riders WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants WWLLL
Team news
Umesh Yadav is not 100 percent fit and with World Test Championship final slated for June, it's unlikely that he will play for KKR. For LSG, Jaydev Unadkat has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL due to shoulder injury. Batter Suryansh Shedge has been named his replacement.
The big question
Impact player strategy
KKR might continue using Venkatesh Iyer and Suyash Sharma as their impact players, depending on whether they bat first or bowl first.
Kolkata Knight Riders (probable XII): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Andre Russell, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Suyash Sharma
LSG could look to substitute out Prerak Mankad or Ayush Badoni for either Yash Thakur or Amit Mishra, depending on how the pitch behaves.
Lucknow Super Giants (probable XII): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Deepak Hooda, 3 Prerak Mankad, 4 Krunal Pandya (capt), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Naveen-ul-Haq, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10, Swapnil Singh, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Yash Thakur/Amit Mishra
Stats that matter
Andre Russell hasn't had a good season so far, and it could get worse for him. Russell has managed only 59 runs from 52 balls - a strike rate of 113 - against spin this season, while being dismissed four times. Also, the spinners' economy rate of 8.45 at Eden Gardens is a lot better than the 9.81 pace bowlers have. Add to that the prospect of three out of Krunal, Bishnoi, Mishra and Swapnil Singh in the LSG side on Saturday evening, and Russell could be in trouble.
Among all batters who have faced at least 35 balls during the last four overs this season, Stoinis' strike rate of 214.28 is the second best. And with the same filter, Rinku Singh's 16 sixes during that phase are three more than the second-placed Tim David and Shimron Hetmyer.
The short boundaries at Eden Gardens mean it has the second-highest run rate (11.19) from overs 17-20 of all grounds that have hosted at least three games this season. However, KKR and LSG's scoring rate in this phase has been low: 9.61 each.
KKR's pace bowlers have an average of 41.34 and an economy of 10.27 this IPL. Both figures are comfortably the poorest among pacers from any team.
Pitch and conditions
It rained in Kolkata in the build-up to the match, and intermittent showers are expected during the game too. Eden Gardens has proved to be a high-scoring venue, with 200 being breached four times in six games.
Quotes
"Home advantage is not a question of pitches. It is about winning games. We should have won the games we played [at Eden Gardens]. Pitches have changed; nobody can give a guarantee on them."
KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit doesn't think pitches at home have been unfavourable for his side
