The Quetta Gladiators will go up against the high-flying Multan Sultans in the 17th fixture of the Pakistan Super League at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

The Sultans, who outperformed even themselves in yesterday's showdown against defending champs Peshawar Zalmi, currently sit atop the PSL 2018 points table with nine points to their name.

The newcomers appear to be in good form with four wins in six matches under their belt, and with the show they put on yesterday, a repeat performance may be on the cards today.

The Sultans already have a psychological edge over the Gladiators, who were flattened by the Shoaib Malik-led side in a 9-wicket win in the 13th match this season.

The Sarfraz-led Gladiators, who have won just two of their five matches, have had a relatively quiet season. The highlight of their season has been a win against Islamabad United.

The Gladiators will need to keep the memory of their last encounter with the Sultans fresh to ensure they avoid making the same mistakes. They will need to make sure their openers rack up a solid total on the scoreboard.

Squads

Multan Sultans

Shoaib Malik (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Sohaib Maqsood, Abdullah Shafiq, Darren Bravo, Saif Badar, Umar Siddiq, Shan Masood, Sohail Tanvir, Kieron Pollard, Kashif Bhatti, Ross Whiteley, Kumar Sangakkara, Nicholas Pooran, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Imran Tahir (cover: Thisara Perera), Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas, and Hardus Viljoen.

Quetta Gladiators

Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Mahmudullah Riyad (cover: John Hastings), Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mir Hamza, Umar Amin, Shane Watson, Carlos Brathwaite (cover: Jofra Archer/Ben Laughlin), Rahat Ali, Rameez Raja jr., Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel, Hassan Khan, Jason Roy (cover: Albie Morkel), Rashid Khan (cover: Chris Green), Mohammad Azam Khan and Faraz Ahmed