What: Big Bash League
Who: Stars v Sixers
When: Monday, January 5 – 7.10pm (AEDT)
Where: MCG
I Can Watch It On: Channel 10
FORM GUIDE
Stars: WLLL
Sixers: WWWL
20-20 VISION
The Stars have finally broken their BBL04 duck with Saturday's record thrashing of the Renegades and will now look to follow up with a win against the in-form Sixers.
Not only were the Stars able to keep the Renegades to a record low total of 57, they also posted the largest winning margin of 112 runs.
However facing the second-placed Sixers shapes as a much tougher encounter.
Captained by Moises Henriques, the boys in pink have started the season strongly with three wins and one loss, with the team also sitting second on the ladder after their four games.
The Stars sit on the opposite end of the scale, with one win and three losses.
REASON TO WATCH
There is plenty on the line in this grudge match. Mix the old fashioned Melbourne v Sydney rivalry with the fact the Sixers can ruin the Stars' campaign and you've got a must-watch encounter.
REASON TO TURN AWAY
Don't turn away tonight. Even if one team is dominating early. The will be no shortage of player who can turn a game in an over.
SAY WHAT
Stars all-rounder James Faulkner reckons his team's luck has changed for the better.
"T20 cricket is a pretty fickle game - it's so fast, things can be taken away from you pretty quickly. But you can also take things away from the opposition quickly, too, if you're good enough and I believe we're good enough," Faulkner said.
"We know we can get on a roll, we did that last year and we're a good team so I'm sure we are going to fire at some stage."
FINAL WORD
In the teams most recent BBL clash, the Stars managed a 73-run victory when David Hussey and Glenn Maxwell helped them post more than 200.
But this time there is no Hussey (hand injury) and Maxwell doesn't know which end of the bat to hold at the moment.
The visitors will be strengthened with Stpehen O’Keefe back from injury, and paceman Sean Abbott has been one of the tournament's best with the ball this year.
But the wheels fell off for the Sixers last start against the Scorchers due to a poor batting effort in the power play. They cannot afford to have that happen again.
The Sixers have the early wins on the board, but the Stars carry all the momentum and will notch consecutive victories, with in-form spinner Michael Beer to again be prominent.
TEAMS