IPL Results 2014: Full Playoff Predictions Going Into Final Week

With just one week remaining in the 2014 Indian Premier League group stage, the race for a top-four finish and a play-off ticket is starting to heat up.

Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have qualified for the play-offs, with Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad still vying for the fourth and final play-off ticket.

Kolkata have the inside track and will have a chance to take care of business in a head-to-head against Chennai on Tuesday, a match that should be the highlight of the tournament up to this point.

Let's have a look at the situation for each of the three teams and their form coming into the final week of IPL group action, as we predict what will happen when the play-offs get underway.

Match	Winners	Margin	Losers
40	Kolkata Knight Riders	six wickets	Mumbai Indians
41	Rajasthan Royals	62 runs	Delhi Daredevils
42	Royal Challengers Bangalore	five wickets	Chennai Super Kings
43	Kolkata Knight Riders	seven wickets	Sunrisers Hyderabad

Team	Played	Points	Net run rate
Kolkata Knight Riders	11	12	+0.087
Royal Challengers Bangalore	11	10	-0.270
Sunrisers Hyderabad	11	8	-0.325

Kolkata are the obvious choice as the final play-off team, having won four straight and leading the pack in both points and net run rate. A close win over direct rivals Hyderabad will do wonders for the team's momentum and also showed the Knight Riders' ability to win on slower pitches.

Freddie Wilde believes Kolkata should make the play-offs because of it:

Tuesday's meeting with Chennai's powerful group of batsmen will be a real challenge for Sunil Narine and company, but their next match will be just as important.

Bangalore defeated those same Super Kings on Sunday with some superb bowling, limiting the output of some of the world's best batsmen in Brendon McCullum, MS Dhoni and Dwayne Smith.

Challengers hit a rough patch two weeks ago but have bounced back with consecutive wins, and the team can effectively eliminate Sunrisers in their clash on Tuesday.

Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli are a devastating core of batsmen to build around, but it has been the team's bowling making the difference in the last matches. Abu Nechim recorded an economy of 4.50 against the mighty Super Kings, leading the way as his team scored a much-needed upset.

Schalk van Zuydam/Associated Press

Hyderabad have now lost three in a row and are falling fast. Their chances of making the play-offs are slim at best, and with Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata next on the schedule, Sunrisers will need more than just a miracle to qualify for the play-offs.

Looking at the schedule, their four-match win streak and their dominant bowling in recent fixtures, expect Kolkata to be the fourth play-off team.

Their match against Chennai will be a difficult one, and it will give us a nice idea of how both teams match up ahead of the play-offs, but even with a loss, the Knight Riders would still hold the advantage over Bangalore in net run rate.

Mahesh Kumar A/Associated Press

De Villiers is a phenomenal batsman, but Bangalore have relied too heavily on his production, and if the South African is contained, his team usually loses. And yes, it's that simple. He leads his team with 343 total runs, and his production, along with that of Yuvraj Singh (308) has carried his team to this point.

It won't be enough to overcome Narine, however, whose 6.09 economy rate is ranked third in all of the IPL.

So the play-off teams will be Punjab, Chennai, Rajasthan and Kolkata. All four have at least one bowler ranked in the top five players in terms of economy, and with the pitches becoming slower because of the amount of matches played on them, bowling will take on an even bigger role in the play-offs.

Glenn Maxwell and his 517 runs give Kings XI a tremendous advantage over any of the other teams, but his partner, David Miller, has slowed down after a hot start to the tournament.

Smith (449) and McCullum (352) remain one of the most frightening tandems in the world, and their lack of production against Bangalore is something that will not happen on a consistent basis. If either of them get in a groove, Chennai are difficult to stop.

It's difficult to look past Kolkata's four-match win streak, however, indicating the team clearly has momentum on their side as we draw closer to the play-offs.

But Punjab and Chennai's combination of solid bowling and explosive batting should make them favourites come play-off time, and every neutral is looking forward to a straight head-to-head between these two titans in the final.

Super Kings lost both matches against Punjab this season, but their bowlers have really stepped up in recent matches. Should these teams meet in the final, look for Chennai to win their record third IPL title, after losing the final in the last two seasons.

All statistics used are courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.