Stars vs Sixers BBL betting tips & top odds – 15/12/2021

The Melbourne Stars are set to welcome the defending-champion Sydney Sixers to the MCG on Wednesday night as the Big Bash League train rolls on.

The Stars bounced back to form with a resounding victory against the Sydney Thunder on Sunday night, with thanks to an Andre Russell masterclass with the bat. ‘Dre Russ’ showed why he is deemed one of the best T20 players in the world when smashing an unbeaten 42 off 21 balls which included five sixes. With Russell showing his power with the bat, the Stars will be hoping he can now find his groove with ball in hand.

Despite having international stars like Russell, Adam Zampa and to a lesser extent Glenn Maxwell at the bowling crease, it is the lesser known Qais Ahmed and Brody Couch that the Sixers will need to be wary of. Both Qais (2-17) and Couch (2-26) showed against the Thunder that the Stars are more than a one-trick pony.

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The Sixers were handed somewhat of a reality check when the Hobart Hurricanes got the better of them by 44 runs on Saturday night. Josh Philippe (72 off 46 balls) continued his strong early-season form, but after Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short put on 111 for the Hurricanes’ opening wicket, it was always going to be an uphill battle from that point on for the Sixers.

The two-time defending champions will need a more economical output from their star-studded bowling attack. With less-than-ideal performances from Sean Abbott (0-42), Tom Curran (1-46) and Chris Jordan (1-51) all put in less-than-ideal performances, and that sort of output won’t fly against a Stars line-up which is one of the most powerful in the competition.

With top spot on the line in BBL11, the Melbourne Stars enter the clash as slight underdogs ($1.93) on most cricket betting sites, with the Sixers ($1.87) the favoured choice as they look to hold onto first place.

Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers betting predictions

Top match runscorer: Josh Philippe

Josh Philippe has picked up where he left off in BBL10, with 160 runs to his name thus far in BBL11. He has formed a scary opening partnership with James Vince in recent years, and the $5 on offer for him to be the top runscorer of the game on Wednesday looks to be a smart bet. He was the top scorer when these two teams last met with an explosive 83 off 47 balls, and we expect he will repeat that performance here.

Melbourne Stars top wicket-taker: Brody Couch

With Adam Zampa and now Andre Russell at their disposal, it is quite remarkable that Brody Couch is the Stars’ leading wicket-taker through three games with five wickets to his name at an average of 17. He took 2-36 when these two teams met on opening night of BBL11, and coming off an impressive showing against the Thunder, he looks a good bet on Wednesday. With Zampa and Qais Ahmed looking to keep it tight at one end, it allows someone like Couch to cash in at the other.