London Spirit vs Southern Brave Prediction: Back 7/1 Hilton to provide top service for Brave

Southern Brave kept their playoff hopes alive with a victory over Welsh Fire, but need to win both their remaining games, starting with Lord's on Saturday. 

Dan Thomas is buoyed from going two-for-two last time out in the Hundred as he assesses the form and best betting angles for the match, live on Sky Sports and BBC Two from 18:00. He brings us his London Spirit vs Southern Brave predictions in his match preview here on Betfred Insights...

*You can check out all of our Cricket Odds over at betfred.com

Spirit lacking bite 

A familiar tale for Spirit against Northern Superchargers, as their batters failed to put a competitive score on the board, managing just 135/3.  

When David Warner doesn't fire - he was out for a duck here - Spirit rarely score quickly enough and, despite a good half-century from Ollie Pope, it was never going to be enough; Superchargers chased the total down with 18 balls to spare, losing just two wickets.  

Spirit's bowling lacked control; Daniel Worrall conceded 26 from three overs, Luke Wood leaked 28, while Gleeson and Overton chipped in with a wicket apiece but lacked incisiveness.  

Brave still in the hunt 

Brave squeaked past Welsh Fire in a low-scoring thriller at Cardiff last time out, thanks largely to a quickfire 50 from Hilton Cartwright and then a top class performance with the ball from Jofra Archer. 

Batting first in helpful bowling conditions, Brave were wobbling at 18/2 off 28 balls and then 71/5 when skipper James Vince lost his wicket for 29, but Cartwright's explosive 51 not out off 19 balls got them up to 129/8. 

Archer was outstanding in Fire's response, taking 3/20 and going for only four runs off his final set as the hosts fell four runs short of the target. Chris Jordan's return from injury added much needed balance to the attack.  

Pitch & conditions 

Spirit's struggles to get going against Superchargers once again highlighted the slow nature of the Lord's pitch after the first few balls, although Zak Crawley noted it was much easier batting under lights in the second innings. It will be a mild evening, but with cloud cover that could offer some assistance to the seamers.  

Key odds 

Spirit are 11/10 outsiders here with Brave the strong favourites at 8/11. The visitors remain inconsistent but we'd want a bigger price to be backing the Lord's outfit given their difficulties in posting competitive scores.  

Warner (14/5) and Kane Williamson (10/3) head the market for top Spirit batter but Jamie Smith is the better bet at 7/2 now that he's been pushed up the order. Pope is 11/2 to repeat his win from last time out. For Brave, Vince remains the favourite although he's been pushed out to 11/4, with opening partner Leus de Plooy at 4/1. Cartwright catches the eye at 7/1 after two consecutive wins in this market. 

*You can check out all the latest and live London Spirit vs Southern Brave Odds over on betfred.com

Best Bets 

It's been a tournament to forget for Vince, scoring only 96 across the six matches so far and I'm happy to oppose him beating his runs line of 21.5 on what has been a difficult wicket to bat on. We'll add on a small stakes play for Cartwright to continue his good form at top score for Brave at a nice price of 7/1. 

Dan Thomas 2025 Cricket P/L:

• Staked: 28.5pts 
• Returned: 22.67pts 
• P/L: -5.33pts 

Find more Cricket Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights