Chelsea forward Gonzalo Higuain has said he is at a stage in his life when he is immune to criticism and regrets having felt like a prisoner because of it earlier in his career.

Higuain has received criticism for failure to help Argentina win a major trophy, while he also left Napoli to join arch-rivals Juventus in 2016.

"I always regretted hiding, not going out on the street for fear of what people might say," he told ESPN Argentina TV show Hablemos de futbol. "There are people who cause so much pain and do so many bad things and yet they go out there showing their faces without shame,

"And we, who don't kill anyone, who do things well, who only play a sport, why can't we go out? Once I started to understand this, I started to go out, to live life more. I am grateful for it because life just goes by and suddenly you are 40 or 50 and you can't go back. I live better."

Higuain is playing in his 12th season playing in Europe. He retired from international football last month after scoring 31 goals in 75 international appearances for Argentina.

Higuain was part of the sides which suffered defeats in the finals of the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Copa America Centenario -- famously spurning chances in all three.

Asked about the criticism that followed, the 31-year-old said: "I suffered. Even if you don't look at social media, it still reaches you. I'm now at a stage in my life when nothing hurts.

"I've played in the best leagues, the best teams, in three World Cups and in the Copa America. It no longer affects me what people say. I have overcome it. When I was young, I didn't imagine that I would achieve 10 percent of what I have. Why am I going to worry what they say?"

LIVERPOOL, England -- Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he doesn't know whether all of his players care enough after the 4-0 hammering by Everton.

United slumped to their sixth defeat in eight games after a dismal display at Goodison Park, leaving their top-four hopes hanging by a thread ahead of home games against Manchester City and Chelsea.

Asked afterwards whether he believed his players cared enough to play for the club, Solskjaer, who said members of his squad need a "reality check" on Friday, said: "I don't know.

"You've got to ask them. I've asked them, you're not going get the answer from me but if you want to play at this club it has to mean more.

"We can't change the whole squad. One step at a time. I'm going to be successful here and there are players that won't be part of that."

- Ratings: Pogba, Martial abject at Everton

Solskjaer apologised to United supporters who travelled to Goodison Park after they continued singing throughout the 90 minutes despite watching their biggest Premier League defeat since 2016. The Norwegian will have to lift his players quickly with City visiting Old Trafford on Wednesday followed by a home game against Chelsea four days later.

"That's the biggest incentive we can have, Old Trafford at home in front of our fantastic fans," Solskjaer said.

"They were unbelievable again and they never, ever moaned at our players which they could have. They've been supportive and I'm sure they will be on Wednesday night.

"We've got to focus on these two games. We're still in with a chance to get the points we need for the top four so sometimes, it sounds too easy to say but we have to look forward. You cannot dwell too much on this."

Everton were completely dominant and the 4-0 scoreline didn't flatter Marco Silva's side after registering 15 shots and eight on target. United forced Jordan Pickford into just one save and also ran 8km less than Everton -- a statistic that prompted Solskjaer to lay into his players' fitness.

"A basic thing in a team performance is running," Solskjaer said.

"Our fitness is nowhere near good enough.

"We've been chasing results and are close to the top four and never envisaged being so close when we came in but maybe it's caught up with us.

"We all know to win games of football, it's basics, and fitness is nothing to do with talent."

Solskjaer went over to the travelling fans and apologised after the match -- and former United captain Gary Neville laid into the side following a woeful afternoon.

"I'm furious with the fact that he's [Solskjaer] had to go over to apologise to the fans," Neville said.

"I've often said that if clubs have got weeds in the garden, you've got to get rid of them. There are some Japanese knot weeds at that football club and it's attacking the foundations of the house and needs dealing with properly.

"The fans are not going to turn on Ole. The players have their heads on the line."

"It was embarrassing watching some of those Manchester United players out there today. I have full belief in Ole with what he needs to do. The club will fully support him. That performance today was rancid."

Asked to name which players he believed were a problem, Neville said: "I don't need to name names. They know who they are. They are in the papers every day and are on social media.

"I've fallen into the trap of talking about talent. Forget it if they don't work hard enough."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

Nemanja Matic said he was Manchester United's biggest problem during their 4-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Midfielder Matic was at fault for Everton's second goal when he allowed Gylfi Sigurdsson the space to score from 20 yards, and the Serbia international admitted he could have done better.

"Many things didn't work for us today," he told TV2. "First of all, our approach.

"I think that the most experienced guys, in this case me, didn't play well today. So I don't think we need to blame the young guys today. I was the biggest problem.

"In these kinds of games, you have to win the battle in the middle, then the team can play better football. We didn't do that."

United remain in the hunt for a place in the top four after both Tottenham and Arsenal lost over the weekend.

- Ratings: Pogba, Martial abject at Everton

They face Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday, and Matic said the players had talked about how to put things right.

"We had one small meeting," Matic said. "We will try to do better in the next few days. We have a big game against Manchester City, so we will see if we're ready.

"We'll keep it behind the doors, but I think it was a good meeting."

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer questioned his players' desire and commitment after the match, while pundit Gary Neville said some of them had been "embarrassing."

Ashley Young, who came on as a half-time substitute, urged his teammates to hit back against City.

"We know how important that's going to be," Young told MUTV. "If you can't get yourselves up for the Manchester derby, there's something wrong.

"I've got confidence that we're going to be ready for Wednesday. We've got to dust ourselves down fairly quickly and go again this week."

April showers bring May flowers... and set up wild MLS seasons chock full of surprising results and consensus-smashing results.

It took a while to get here, but it feels like MLS is finally the league we all know and mostly wring our hands about. A league that provides more than its fair share of chaos. A league that tests our patience with a round of results that confounds as much as it clarifies.

Who's good? Who's bad? These are our weekly MLS Power Rankings.

Previous rankings: Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

1. LAFC (7 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss)

Previous ranking: 1

Next MLS match: Sunday, April 28, at Seattle (3.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes)

Okay, so LAFC lost on the road to Vancouver on Wednesday but Bob Bradley's club also made a statement against Seattle on Sunday night, busting up the second-best team in the league with a strong performance at Banc of California Stadium. How good is LAFC? Good enough to remain the best team in MLS. See you all next week.

2. Seattle Sounders (5-1-1)

Previous ranking: 2

Next MLS match: Wednesay, April 24, vs. San Jose Earthquakes (10.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

There's this: The Sounders were the last unbeaten team in MLS when the whistle blew in LA on Sunday night. That won't make them feel better about the performance, a big loss to LAFC, but there's hope that the season will bend toward Seattle across 34 games. Good team, bad night.

3. LA Galaxy (6-0-1)

Previous ranking: 3

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at Minnesota (8 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic won himself (another) penalty, Diego Polenta scored his first MLS goal and the Galaxy knocked the Dynamo from the ranks of the unbeaten. The real show on Friday was the battle between Ibrahimovic and AJ De La Garza. Back in his old stomping grounds, De La Garza decide to fight a lion. He did not win.

4. Houston Dynamo (4-1-1)

Previous ranking: 4

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. Columbus Crew (8.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

The unbeaten run was always going to end at some point. Friday's loss wasn't inevitable -- the Dynamo went toe-to-toe with the Galaxy on the road -- but we can't downgrade Houston dramatically because of it. Wilmer Cabrera's team looks to be the real deal and will be in the mix all year for the top spot in the West. If they can hold on to Alberth Elis.

5. FC Dallas (5-1-2)

Previous ranking: 8

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. San Jose (3.30 p.m. ET)

First, the facts: Atlanta is not very good right now and beating them isn't all that unique anymore. That being said, walking into Mercedes-Benz Stadium and taking down the champions is no small feat for a young side like FC Dallas. Take note of the goalscorers for the Hoops: 18-year academy product Jesus Ferreira and offseason DP singing Bryan Acosta.

6. D.C. United (4-2-2)

Previous ranking: 5

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at Columbus Crew (7.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Held against Montreal and then beaten at home by NYCFC -- it was not the best week for United in terms of results. The strangeness of the schedule keeps United at the top of the table in the East, but there's a teetering feeling about that status for the Black & Red. This is not a team that can afford for Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta to go missing.

7. Toronto FC (4-1-1)

Previous ranking: 9

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs Portland (3 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

The Reds bounced back from last week's loss in Seattle with a wild win over Minnesota United, but the real drama came after the game. Jozy Altidore's frustration over another hamstring injury prompted an outburst at team president Bill Manning, not a good look for a club that was the model of harmony not that long ago.

8. Columbus Crew (4-1-2)

Previous ranking: 6

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, vs. D.C. United (7.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

On the whole, the start to life under Caleb Porter hasn't been too bad in Columbus -- the Crew did sit second in the East before the weekend matches, after all. But the struggle to score goals is becoming a real problem for Porter's team. Every team is susceptible to poor finishing, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious fix in Ohio.

9. Philadelphia Union (4-1-3)

Previous ranking: 10

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, at Vancouver (5 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Easy stuff for the Union on Saturday against Montreal. One problem: Andre Blake left the game with a groin injury. That's trouble for Jim Curtin's team: Blake is a former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year for good reason and consistently keeps his teams in games all by himself.

10. Minnesota United (3-1-3)

Previous ranking: 11

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at LA Galaxy (8 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

The Loons showed energy, fight, grit, passion, joy, skill and any number of other positive traits in a wild loss to Toronto on Friday. That's the good. The bad is that Minnesota's defending is still distressingly bad and both Jan Gregus and Francisco Calvo were sent off late in the match. Neither will be available against LA in midweek.

11. Montreal Impact (3-2-3)

Previous ranking: 12

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at New England (7.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

The most inconsistent team in the league (and this is MLS, so that's saying A LOT) dropped a 3-0 result on the road in Philadelphia on Saturday. It's tough to know how to judge the Impact while Ignacio Piatti remains missing in action, though the defensive struggles of the club can't be explained away by Piatti's absence.

12. Orlando City (3-2-3)

Previous ranking: 15

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 28, vs. New York City FC (1 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

By no means was the 1-0 win over Vancouver comfortable but the Lions can't really afford to be picky at this point. Orlando out-shot, out-possessed and out-played Vancouver in the win, but it's almost as if the lucky deflection off of Nani from Sacha Kljestan was just desserts for Orlando in a must-win game.

13. Real Salt Lake (3-1-4)

Previous ranking: 17

Next MLS match: Sunday, April 28, at Cincinnati (8 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

RSL executed a statement in a hostile environment in Cincinnati and should feel good about a 3-0 win. That doesn't mean Mike Petke will sit happy back in Utah, especially considering that his side has a different test against the Galaxy coming next weekend. By the way, Albert Rusnak is pretty good.

14. Sporting Kansas City (2-3-2)

Previous ranking: 7

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. New England (8.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Things got out of hand quickly for Sporting in San Jose. Could it have been different if Krisztian Nemeth had converted a penalty in the 26th minute? Maybe, but Nemeth's shot ended up following the flight path from the planes at nearby San Jose International Airport instead. For now, SKC is what their record says.

15. Chicago Fire (2-3-2)

Previous ranking: 19

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at New York City FC (7 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

The Fire dropped four on Colorado, and though it was only Colorado, that number is a big step forward. The full influence of Nicolas Gaitan is now evident and the Argentinean is making his presence felt in Bridgeview. The pair of assists Gaitan provided to the Fire effort should be just the first taste of what he can do.

16. New York City FC (1-5-1)

Previous ranking: 18

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, vs. Chicago (7 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Alexandru Mitrita and Heber are pretty good. Both scored in a big win over DC, a game that changes the feeling in the Eastern Conference thanks to NYCFC's slow start. There are lots of questions in the East, not the least of which is "who's good?" considering the reasonable doubts about a number of teams at the top of the conference.

17. New York Red Bulls (1-2-4)

Previous ranking: 13

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. Cincinnati (7 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

It's not getting better for the Red Bulls, who are now more than halfway to their total loss total from 2018. This being MLS, nothing is lost, but the clouds over the team are thick and dark. Saturday's performance in New England wasn't just disappointing because of the loss, but because New York never really threatened to score.

18. FC Cincinnati (2-2-4)

Previous ranking: 14

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, at New York Red Bulls (7 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

FCC is crashing back to earth after a start that caught most of the league off guard. It would help to have Fanendo Adi in the lineup, but it's hard to escape the feeling that much of that start was more shock and awe than a result of real quality. Is this expansion year already a success?

19. Atlanta United (1-2-3)

Previous ranking: 16

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. Colorado (6 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

A lot is made of Arthur Blank's commitment to his soccer team and his willingness to spend money to make that team successful. It's worth wondering now, six games into United's 2019 season, if that willingness to spend money extends to a willingness to pay a buyout on a contract for a head coach when things obviously aren't working.

20. Vancouver Whitecaps (1-2-5)

Previous ranking: 20

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. Philadelphia (5 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Wednesday delivered Marc Dos Santos his first MLS win and Vancouver a reason to be hopeful. Of course the league rewarded the Whitecaps with a trip across the continent and a match against Orlando on short rest. Should we throw out the result in Florida or ding Vancouver for losing a tough game on a tough road trip?

21. New England Revolution (2-1-5)

Previous ranking: 21

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, vs. Montreal (7.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

The margins are small for the Revs. Whatever progress Brad Friedel's team make, there seems to be a setback around the corner. Saturday's win over the Red Bulls is a big deal, but it's hard to see it as a prelude to a massive step forward for the club. If there's something more coming, Wednesday's match against the Impact might tell the tale.

22. San Jose Earthquakes (2-0-5)

Previous ranking: 22

Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at Seattle (10.30 p.m. ET)

The Quakes are still near the bottom of the standings, but the performances -- and results -- are improving. Saturday's 4-1 win over Sporting was emphatic, encouraging, and potentially worrying for the rest of the West, especially since caoch Matias Almeyda appears to finally have a sense of what his best lineup looks like.

23. Portland Timbers (1-1-5)

Previous ranking: 24

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, at Toronto (3 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Cue the choir singing "Hallelujah." The Timbers got themselves a lead with the first goal off the game -- something they hadn't done yet this season and rode it to a win in Columbus. It serves no purpose for a club as desperate as Portland to look a gift win in the mouth, so we won't either.

24. Colorado Rapids (0-2-6)

Previous ranking: 23

Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, at Atlanta (6 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+)

Colorado's ugly loss in Chicago sets up a very interesting game next week in Atlanta: The winless Rapids versus a desperate Atlanta United team. Who will come out on top in a match between two bad teams? Can the Colorado heap more misery on the miserable Five Stripes? Will Atlanta win a game that will make everyone say "Yeah, but it's the Rapids"?

For Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, Sunday's humiliating 4-0 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park had at least one positive. If every cloud really does have a silver lining, this one offered validation of United's determination to rip it up and start again under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and follow the example set by, of all clubs, their biggest rivals, Liverpool.

You will hear plenty of talk this week about the United-Liverpool rivalry and how the men from Old Trafford have the ability to pave the way for Anfield to host its first title party since 1990 by denying Manchester City a crucial victory in Wednesday's 178th Manchester derby.

- Weekend review: Liverpool and City the gold standard
- Dawson: United's worst day since Fergie retired

But off the pitch, and in the United boardroom, there is admiration for the manner in which Liverpool have rebuilt to become a major force under Jurgen Klopp.

Sources have told ESPN FC that the patience displayed by the Anfield hierarchy during Klopp's early months in charge and the successful recruitment structure put in place by Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's American owners, have been identified by Woodward and United's Florida-based owners, the Glazer family, as the model to emulate in order to restore United to the summit of the game.

There is an acceptance that Solskjaer -- appointed as permanent manager last month after replacing the sacked Jose Mourinho on a temporary basis in December -- needs time to turn United around. And, as unpalatable as it may be at Old Trafford, there is also a realisation that the 46-year-old is likely to need at least the three years of his contract to make the team competitive again.

While Klopp has made Liverpool title challengers and put the team on course to reach a second successive Champions League final this season, the former Borussia Dortmund coach missed out on European qualification completely in his first season of 2015-16 and has still to win a trophy at Anfield.

But in tandem with the club's transfer committee, led by sporting director Michael Edwards, Klopp has overseen the transformation of Liverpool. Woodward and the Glazers believe the Anfield blueprint -- patience and smart recruitment -- can also work for United.

However, after throwing money at their problems by lavishing £89.3m on Paul Pogba, a potential £90m on Romelu Lukaku and breaking the wage structure to hand Alexis Sanchez a reported £400,000-a-week in the swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Arsenal in January 2018, it has not gone unnoticed at United that Liverpool's front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino collectively cost less than £100m.

And the likes of Andy Robertson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri have all contributed positively at Anfield having been signed for relatively small fees from clubs relegated from the Premier League.

But despite the success enjoyed by Liverpool, there can be no quick fix for United. Solskjaer has been tasked with the football equivalent of performing an 180 degree turn in an oil tanker in rough seas -- a challenge Woodward and the Glazers expect to be made easier by the appointment of a technical director before the start of next season.

While the technical director will ultimately report to Woodward, the yet-to-be-appointed figure will be tasked with working alongside Solskjaer and the club's senior scouts to ensure that United are able to identify emerging talent as well as competing at the top end of the market.

United once wrote the scripts, but now they are nothing more than bit-part actors and, after five years of bad appointments, expensive transfer mistakes and questionable strategic planning, a realisation has dawned that the next five years have to be different.

To that end, Sunday's woeful performance against Everton has only served to strengthen Solskjaer's hand as manager.

The Norwegian has lost four of the six games since landing the job on a permanent basis, but sources have told ESPN FC that the club's hierarchy were expecting a downturn in results and performances after the 11-game unbeaten run at the outset of Solskjaer's role as interim boss.

Concerns over the fitness of the squad under Mourinho prompted Solskjaer and his coaches to intensify training in December and January. There was an initial, and prolonged, uplift in performances and results, but sources said that the extra work on the training ground is now catching up with several players. Indeed some within Old Trafford have been alarmed by the sharp decline in output displayed by a number of them in recent weeks.

The slump in form has left United now battling to salvage their season with a top four finish, as four wins from their final four games are not guaranteed to be enough to secure Champions League qualification unless other results go their way.

Another campaign in the Europa League will hit United's finances and potentially affect their ability to recruit leading targets, but as Liverpool have shown, being away from the top table can be used as an opportunity to rebuild strategically out of the glare of the spotlight.

The roadmap is laid out for United and Solskjaer. Only time will tell whether they follow it or continue to veer off course.

Bangladesh bowling coach Courtney Walsh wants fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman to be given enough time to recover from his ankle injury, and not be used too much during the tri-series in Ireland next month. Walsh suggested that given Mustafizur's habit of picking up small injuries, he should be geared towards his work for the World Cup, which begins two weeks after the Ireland tour.

Speaking after the side's first training session in Dhaka before leaving for Ireland, Walsh was concerned about the injury worries to some of his pace bowlers. Apart from Mustafizur, Rubel Hossain has a side strain while Mohammad Saifuddin is suffering from a tennis elbow. Even Abu Jayed is said to have picked up a niggle.

But it is Mustafizur who has had such an impact in the Bangladesh bowling line-up after the 2015 World Cup and is the biggest concern ahead of the next big event in England.

"[Mustafizur] has got a big role to play in the World Cup, once he is fit," Walsh said. "But I don't think we rely on any one player. Shakib [Al Hasan], Mash [Mashrafe Mortaza] and Rubel have been consistent. Fizz hasn't been as sharp since his injury, and he keeps picking up slight niggles. A fully fit Mustafizur can win games for you but we have to have him as fit as possible. We have a bit of time on our side. My concern is that I hope we don't over-rush him, and probably use him too much in Ireland, and he is not fresh for the World Cup.

"Out of the five we have three injured - Fizz, Rubel and Saifuddin, who has the tennis elbow. We need to get them back into bowling, within the right frame of mind, and be sharp enough to do a bit of bowling in Ireland and be ready for the World Cup. We have Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed and Shafiul Islam as well [for back-up]. You can probably say that we have them just in case we need them."

Walsh said that playing the tournament in England, where the pitches are mostly expected to help the batsmen, will require the pace bowlers to not just have skills, but also know when and where to use them. "It will be a big challenge. The World Cup is going to be long tournament," Walsh said. "There are going to be some good cricket wickets, which are batting-friendly. We have to be intelligent, and try to execute well.

"We have to read the conditions and the surfaces we play. Some places the ball might swing more than others. We have to assess when we get there. Most of the wickets will be docile and flat. We have to work on our variations and execution.

"Everybody studies one another these days, so they know our strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, we also know theirs. So it is about execution on the day, and try to be smart."

Walsh said that the progress shown by someone like Saifuddin, whose bowling has evidently improved in recent months, had excited him.

"He has come along tremendously. He has bowled very well," Walsh said. "He is a very excitable allrounder. His form in the domestic tournament has been very good. His confidence is quite good. He is keen to do what he is doing. If we can get him fully fit with the tennis elbow being solved, it will be a big plus for us as well."

Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Alyssa Healy has said she understands the reasons for the gender pay gap in cricket but believes the women's game will continue to push for equal pay.

Healy has become one of the stars of the sport after a memorable run of form, that saw her named Player of the Tournament when Australia won the T20 World Cup last year and continued into a prolific home season which included her winning the Belinda Clark medal.

The women's team were a shining light for Australian cricket last season, following their T20 success with home series victories against New Zealand in T20s and ODIs, and Healy rose to being one of the best players in the world.

"I'm realistic in saying that it's the men's team who are bringing in most of the money," Healy told Nine's 60 Minutes in an interview alongside husband Mitchell Starc. "And they deserve the amount of money that they're getting, while we keep building our game.

"I've got no doubt that one day the women's game will do exactly the same. There's more opportunities for young girls and older girls like me to go out and play for their country and actually get paid for what we're doing. So I think that's pretty special."

Under the 2017 Cricket Australia pay deal, the women were brought onto the same base pay as the men, although overall they remain a long way off being on a level footing.

When Starc was asked about the pay difference, he took a diplomatic line. "It's not for me to determine what I get paid and what she gets paid. That's up to Cricket Australia," he said.

The women's game in Australia is, along with England, the most advanced in the world with the Women's Big Bash League having helped attract a large audience of women and young children. Next season the WBBL will be played in its own window - during October and November - for the first time rather than running concurrently with the men's Big Bash.

Next year Australia will defend their T20 title on home soil. The final will be staged at the MCG on March 8 - International Women's Day - and there is the ambition to play it in front of a record crowd for a women's sporting event. That figure is currently the 90,185 who attended the FIFA Women's World Cup final between USA and China in 1999.

Big picture

The last time Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad met, Super Kings were without MS Dhoni, and they lost five wickets for 22 runs, and the game.

Dhoni recovered from back spasms and returned with a bang against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but Super Kings eventually came up short, by just one run. Meanwhile, even as Super Kings have suffered back-to-back losses on the road, Sunrisers have notched up back-to-back victories at home.

Super Kings couldn't have asked for a better time to return home: they have three matches on the trot at Chepauk, where they have won four out of four so far. They have also welcomed back Dwayne Bravo from a hamstring injury, but there are still concerns over his death bowling. Super Kings will be more worried about their top order - both Shane Watson and Suresh Raina are still searching for form ten matches into the season.

Sunrisers, on the other hand, have thrived at the top, with Jonny Bairstow and David Warner peeling off the runs. All told, they both have contributed 71% of the 1349 runs Sunrisers have scored in IPL 2019. Left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed, who has hit hard lengths in the Powerplay and executed the slower offcutters well at the death, has lent another dimension to the already versatile attack. Then, there's Ambati Rayudu v Vijay Shankar Round 2 to look forward to.

In the news

• Harbhajan Singh was unavailable for Super Kings' last four games - all away from home - because of a stiff neck. If he's fit, he should slot into the XI at Chepauk.

• This will be Bairstow's last match in IPL 2019 - he has to report for duty back home as England begin their World Cup preparations.

• There was a light drizzle in Chennai on the eve of the game, and both Super Kings and Sunrisers did not train, having been in action on Sunday.

Previous meeting

The Dhoni-less Super Kings froze with the bat in the end overs in Hyderabad and were then punished by Warner and Bairstow in a defeat that was termed as a "great wake-up call" by coach Fleming.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings (possible) 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Shane Watson/Sam Billings, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Shardul Thakur/Mohit Sharma

Sunrisers Hyderabad (possible) 1 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 2 David Warner, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Deepak Hooda/Manish Pandey, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Strategy punt

• Watson has managed just 56 runs in four innings at an average of 14 and strike rate 100 at Chepauk in IPL 2019. There's a case for Super Kings to draft in Sam Billings, who is a good player of spin and can rotate the strike better.

• Dhoni's go-slow against spinners, particularly against the ones that take the ball away from him, is well-documented. Sunrisers should make sure Rashid Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem get a crack at Dhoni. The Super Kings captain has scored just 14 off 22 balls from Rashid (while being dismissed once) and 22 off 23 balls from Nadeem in T20 cricket.

• Get Khaleel to bowl back of a length to Faf du Plessis. The Super Kings opener has struggled against this length in IPL 2019, barely scoring at a run a ball while getting dismissed three times in 22 balls.

Stats that matter

• Watson has been dismissed seven times inside the Powerplay this season. No other batsman has been out more times within the first six overs.

• Super Kings have a run rate of 6.2 in the Powerplay in IPL 2019 - their lowest in an IPL season.

• Dhoni needs one six to clock up 200 sixes for Super Kings.

• Rashid needs three wickets to reach 50 wickets in the IPL.