England vs Pakistan 3rd ODI: Match Preview & Predicted Playing XI 

After beating the visitors in the second ODI by 12 runs, England will look to extend their lead when they welcome Pakistan for the third match at the County Ground in Bristol on Tuesday, May 14.

Head to Head Overall: In 81 completed ODI fixtures, England have beaten Pakistan in 50 games.

Head to Head in England: The win at the Southampton was England's 27th win in the 42 completed ODI games. While this will be their first head to head meeting at the Bristol.

England

Jos Buttler quick-fire ton sets the platform for England victory.

England will be oozing with the confidence after their second consecutive (T20I and second ODI) win against the Greens and will be itching to attain the unassailable lead in the ODI series.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root & Jason Roy

England's top-order is witnessing an ominous run and has been unstoppable so far. All of their top five batsmen were among runs last time out with Jos Buttler (110 runs from 55 balls) and Jason Roy (87 runs from 98 balls) being the pick of the lot. Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan both scored fifty plus in the second ODI and these four alongside Joe Root are likely to continue their magnificent run in the third ODI.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Liam Plunkett, David Willey & Adil Rashid

Liam Plunkett and David Willey snared two wickets each and both of them will be backed to squeeze the Pakistani lineup. The hosts will also expect a strong comeback from Adil Rashid (1/81) at Bristol, which is one of his favourite hunting ground with eight wickets in last three games.

Expected Playing XI

Eoin Morgan (C), Jos Buttler (W), Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett.

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman played a magnificent innings the second ODI.

The Visitors are struggling in the 50-over format and have lost their last seven ODIs on the bounce. But they will take some confidence from the heart whelming show in the previous game and will aim to cross the line in the next one.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam & Imam-ul-Haq

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam form the core of the visitors batting lineup and it will mostly depend on these three to get them through to the victory line. Meanwhile, Fakhar cracked a magnificent ton in the last game and he will be curious to replicate in the third. Babar (51) and Imam (35) both played their part in the earlier fixture and will be eager to make it better.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim & Mohammad Amir

Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir are teams most experienced pacers and will be skipper's key shuffles during the powerplay overs. Shaheen Afridi and Imad Wasim will be expected to bind the scoring rate during the middle overs.

Expected Playing XI

Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & W), Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Asif Ali and Hasan Ali.