5 Things to watch out for in Week 5 of PKL 8 action

PKL 8 Week 5: Full Data based highlights preview involving all the teams in Vivo Pro Kabaddi League by Spokesperson - Mohak Arora, Sports Expert, Parimatch brand.

After four weeks of enthralling Kabaddi entertainment in PKL 8, we head into the fifth week of the competition. Puneri Paltan will square off against U.P. Yoddha to kickstart the proceedings while the action ends with Gujarat Giants taking on Bengaluru Bulls.

As of this writing, Bengaluru Bulls command top position in the points table with 38 points from 10 matches and are closely followed by Dabang Delhi who is just one point behind them.

Here are five things to watch out for in Week 5 of PKL action.

5. Dabang Delhi face an uphill task in the absence of Naveen Kumar

In the final moments of the second half against Haryana Steelers, Naveen suffered a knee injury and was spotted by cameras grimacing in pain and heavily bandaged.

Hence, his presence in the top-of-the-table clash against the Patna Pirates on Tuesday remains highly doubtful. Delhi suffered their biggest defeat of the season against Bengaluru in the absence of Naveen as their raiders were only able to collect 16 raid points.

Patna has one of the strongest defensive units this season, with the duo of Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Neeraj Kumar notching up 46 successful tackles between them from 9 matches.

The trio of Ashu Malik, Vijay Malik, and Ajay Thakur has big shoes to fill in the crunch encounter.

4. V Ajith Kumar will aim to revive U Mumba's fortunes

Sixth-placed U Mumba remains winless in their last three matches and will be eyeing a victory against Gujarat Giants to return to winning ways. What will bolster their confidence is the return of V Ajith Kumar from injury.

Abhishek Singh lacked a complementary raider in matches against Patna Pirates and Puneri Paltan, resulting in U Mumba losing both the contests by staggering 20 and 19 point margins respectively.

Upon Ajith's return, U Mumba rallied from behind to complete a comeback and hold the defending champions Bengal Warriors.

The Giants have a weak defensive unit, scoring the lowest number of tackle points (283) this season.

U Mumba's other opponent this week, Telugu Titans, has just 302 tackle points from 9 matches and is not so threatening either. Hence, if Abhishek and Ajith raid in tango, U Mumba can bag two back-to-back victories.

3. Jaipur Pink Panthers collide with Tamil Thalaivas in a classic battle of attack vs defense

Tamil Thalaivas has the second-best defensive unit so far, averaging 11.11 tackle points per match. Surjeet Singh leads the table in terms of average tackle points, courtesy of his crunching back holds. His partner-in-crime Sagar is not far behind as he holds third position on the list.

The duo will be eager to stop the Pink Panthers raider Arjun Deshwal who has 108 raid points from 9 matches and occupies the fourth position overall. Jaipur doesn’t have a really strong defensive unit to bank on as they have the second-lowest average tackle points.

However, to their relief, the Thalaivas don't have a powerful raiding unit either as they have the second-lowest average raid points per match. Hence, the mid-table contest will boil up to just one side of the mat.

2. Lone warrior Maninder Singh to take on the defensive might of UP Yoddha

Bengal Warriors have been a one-man unit upfront while raiding as Maninder Singh alone accounts for 62.14% of their raid points. Delhi is the only side to have a higher dependency on a single raider in the form of Naveen Kumar.

Esmaeil Nabibaksh and Akash Pikalmunde have been hit-and-miss throughout the season and against the defensive might of UP Yoddha, Maninder will have to do the heavy lifting.

The Yoddhas have the second-highest total number of tackle points this season, with Sumit alone collecting more than 24% of the tackle points. Receiving support from Nitesh Kumar and Ashu Singh to inflict damage on the opposition, the trio will be hoping to do the same on Friday.

1. Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates showdown in the marquee fixture

Bengaluru Bulls will square off against Patna Pirates this Thursday to renew their rivalry. Both sides will be eager to correct their mistakes in the marquee fixture of the week and assert their dominance before heading into the playoff stages of the competition.

With Delhi slowly losing ground, Patna and Bengaluru are establishing themselves as strong contenders to finish inside the top two. The Bulls' Pawan Sehrawat will have to bring his high-flying ability to full use against Chiyaneh's ankle-holds and Neeraj's thigh-holds.

Patna has a strong trio of Prasanth Kumar Rai, Monu Goyat, and Sachin in the raiding department who share responsibilities amongst each other. Saurabh Nandal and Aman will have to be on their toes to stop them.