Tonight will be an epic battle as the Las Vegas Aces fly to the West Coast to meet the Los Angeles Sparks. The hosts are in a dire need to grab a win after an 8-game losing streak. Even when they are going against the reigning champions with one of the best forms in the league right now.

While they may be missing a lot of helping hands, especially Cameron Brink, will Sparks’ motivation give them enough fuel to get the better of A’ja Wilson’s squad once again? Here is all you need to know about their game.

Cameron Brink and who? Injury blues for the Sparks vs the Aces

For the first time in the season, Las Vegas is finally showing no player in their injury report. Previously, Chelsea Gray returned to carry the load of the 2x WNBA champs. In their last night’s game vs the Washington Mystics, Kierstan Bell was cleared to play. There, she only came to the floor for a minimum of 7 minutes but grabbed 5 points going 50% from the field. Surely, Becky Hammon will let her trusted 6-ft-1 guard get some action again in front of the vivacious LA crowd.

As for the hosts, the injuries only seem to be getting worse by the day. For some time now, they have three players in their report. The list includes Cameron Brink who tore her ACL in the left foot vs the Connecticut Sun in late June. The 6-ft-4 forward rookie, who recently shared her post-injury update, is out for the entire season. Lexie Brown, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease last year is out for the same. Her return is not mentioned yet.

Additionally, Azura Stevens, who has not yet made her debut this season, is also on the report. She injured her left arm during an off-season game in China. Adding a positive note for her team, she has started to enter full-contact practices and can pick the floor before the Olympic break. But she is still not cleared to play during games. Let us look at the starters for the teams and predict the outcome.

Can Los Angeles take over the Aces?

Las Vegas will be entering the Crypto.com Arena with a 6-win run. Their three starters are showing signs of greatness as they continue to put up 15+ points in every game. A’ja Wilson is indeed a top runner for the MVP award again with her 27 points and 11 rebounds on average. Hence, Hammon will be sending Wilson with Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, and Kiah Stokes. Surely, they’ll want to continue their good winning run. ESPN’s matchup predictor too agrees with them. According to it, Las Vegas has a whopping 78.1% chance of winning tonight’s game.

On the other hand, the starting lineup for the Sparks has seen multiple changes over the course of their 19 games so far. However, Curt Miller’s constants have been Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Kia Nurse, and Ari McDonald. Stephanie Talbot, who has started 2 games of 19 played is also turning out to be a good bet. Interestingly, Layshia Clarendon can also open the game for the hosts as she has in the 11 of 15 that she has played.

Although ESPN’s matchup predictor only shows a bleak 21.9% chance of winning for LA, we have seen teams prove it wrong multiple times. Perhaps, they will do that again. Especially, after losing Cameron Brink, the Sparks could not find their defense back. However, Curt Miller hired the 5-year veteran Crystal Dangerfield for just that. The 5-ft-5 guard is set to crack some vaults for LA during her 7-day stay with the roster. Only time will tell who gets the better of the other.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.