Gloucestershire will take on Kent in the south group competition of England's T20 Blast 2023 on Saturday. Gloucestershire, who have been making good progress lately, suffered a major setback against Somerset last week. Kent, on the other hand, is back in top form having won their last two games.

There is just one game at Vitality Blast 2023 on Saturday, with Gloucestershire hosting the Kent Spitfires at The County Ground. Gloucestershire have six points from seven games and sit 7th in the South Group. The Spitfires are level on points but have one game left. Read on as we take a look at this game. The game starts in Bristol at 19:00 local time.

Gloucestershire were back in contention for the top four after back-to-back victories over Surrey and Middlesex but were beaten by rivals Somerset in the last game and confidence will be low going into this game.

The Kent Spitfires are suddenly looking like a top-flight team again and are starting to remind their fans of the team that won the 2021 tournament. They come to Bristol valuing their chances of another win.

Match Preview

Gloucestershire will take on Kent in game 79 of Vitality Blast 2023 on June 17 at the County Ground in Bristol. Gloucestershire have won three of their seven games and sit sixth in the South Group. Kent, on the other hand, has won just two of their seven games and sits seventh in the South Group rankings.

Gloucestershire had faced Somerset in the last game where Gloucestershire won the toss and chose the field. Somerset got off to a dream start as they hit 122 runs in their opening partnership, which came in just 10 overs. They quickly lost two wickets there but didn't retreat at all. They continued at a similar pace, finishing the innings with 231 runs total. Gloucestershire started off well with a fantastic second-wicket partnership. But then they started losing wickets, and in great excitement. Ultimately they were knocked out of the bowling by just 151 runs and Somerset won the match by a huge 80 run margin.

Kent had played against Hampshire in their last encounter where Kent won the toss and chose the field. Hampshire started horribly, having already lost two wickets in three overs, but an 85-run partnership got them back in the game. Ben Mcdermott and Joe Weatherley each scored their fifty points, helping the team to a good goal of 178 runs. Kent had a hit with his first partnership, and with the second partnership they ultimately won the game. They had lost just four wickets in the process and easily ended their chase in the last over of the innings. Kent won the match by six wickets.

Match Prediction

Although Kent Spitfires and Gloucestershire Spitfires are in the bottom four of the South Group, their recent games have been much better than they were at the start of this season. Gloucestershire suffered a resounding defeat in the last game.

So it will be interesting to see how they react with a new captain in this case. However, the Kent Spitfires dominated Middlesex on Friday and we expect them to prevail in this game as well.

Kent Spitfires will triumph over Gloucestershire.

Pitch Report

The pitch at Bristol's County Ground is cheaper for batters than bowlers. Batters can rely on the bounce of the field and play their shots freely. Bowlers must rely on a tight line and distance when bowling to climb the wickets and control the batters. Chasing the total would be the preferred option here as the first inning average is 163.

Toss Prediction

Teams generally prefer to hunt on this ground as the second batting team has won 27 of 44 T20 games. Any captain would be wise to bowl first if he wins the toss.

Betting Tips

Kent easily won the first matchup of the season by 7 wickets (39 balls remaining), but can they do it again? We certainly think so as they appear to have a slight advantage over Gloucestershire at the moment, thanks largely to Bell-Drummond and Stewart. It's likely to be a closer game this time around but we still expect Kent to be the better team, especially after the emphatic win over Hampshire.

Bet on Kent winning.

Head to Head

This will be the 23rd meeting between these two sides, with Gloucestershire trailing by a slim 12-10. Last year Kent won the match with 39 balls remaining and 7 wickets.

Weather Report 

It will be cloudy for most of the day in Bristol on Saturday and will remain so throughout the match. Still, the temperature will remain in the mid-20s throughout the game, so it's going to be warm.

Probable Playing XI

Gloucestershire

Miles Hammond, Jack Taylor(C), Oliver Price, Ben Charlesworth, Tom Price, James Bracey(wk), Ben Wells, Zafar Gohar, Matt Taylor, David Payne, Tom Smith.

Kent

Daniel Bell-Drummond, Tawanda Muyeye, Jack Leaning, Joe Denly, Grant Stewart, GF Linde, Sam Billings(C), Jordan Cox, KW Richardson, MG Hogan, Fred Klaassen

Top Fantasy Picks Dream11 Prediction

Gloucestershire Key Players

Oliver Price is one of the underrated all-rounders in this tournament but has made a huge impact for Gloucestershire. In 7 games he hit 134 runs with an average of 19.14 and collected 10 wickets with an economy of 8.65.

David Payne bowled beautifully, hitting 10 wickets with an economy of just 6.33. He could be a good budget choice for the team.

Matt Taylor has hit 31 runs in six games so far while accumulating six wickets. He could be a good choice for the team.

Kent Key Players

Daniel Bell-Drummond is showing his class, scoring two half centuries in a row in the last two games. With 313 runs in 8 games and a 39.12 average, he is the leading runs scorer for Kent in this T20 blast.

Michael Hogan has been trading wickets for Kent lately. The 42-year-old veteran Quick has accumulated 13 wickets in 8 games in this competition, with the best odds being 3 for 13.

Joe Denly brings all his experience with him. With 248 runs in 8 games and an average of 41.33, he is the second best runs scorer for Kent in the competition and has one wicket.