The Phoenix Suns host the LA Clippers at Mortgage Matchup Center early on Wednesday morning UK time in a meeting of 12th and 13th in the Western Conference standings, with Phoenix on the second night of a back-to-back and Los Angeles still searching for a first road win.

Los Angeles are 2-7 after a summer in which the NBA stripped them of five first-round picks and they traded Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, while Phoenix are 3-6 under second-year coach Jordan Ott after being swept by Oklahoma City in the first round last spring.

What is the form like for the Suns and Clippers?

The Clippers have lost four of their last five, and the one win, 139-123 over New Orleans on Sunday, ended a seven-game losing run.

Before that they lost 117-116 in overtime to Miami and by 26 points at Minnesota, and across the five games they have scored 117.2 points while conceding 123.2.

Phoenix are 2-3 over their last five, beating Orlando and Houston before Monday's 96-122 home defeat to San Antonio.

Across those games the Suns have averaged 109.4 points and conceded 114.6, a marginally better differential than the Clippers, although the rest edge belongs to Los Angeles, who last played on Sunday, while Phoenix are on the second night of a back-to-back on the NBA schedule.

The season-long numbers show why Phoenix are the weaker defensive side, allowing 120.6 points per 100 possessions against 113.9 for Los Angeles, a gap of 6.7 that dwarfs the Suns' 2.4-point edge on offence.

The Clippers' issue is carelessness rather than creation, since they turn the ball over 19.1 times a game against 14.0 for Phoenix, which gives the Suns 5.1 more possessions per game in which to score.

On the glass the Clippers hold a 2.1 rebound edge with 40.9 per game, a gap that matters more with Mark Williams missing from the Phoenix rotation.

Location tempers all of that, because Los Angeles have scored 107.8 and conceded 121.0 away from home for a differential of -13.3, while Phoenix's home figures of 114.2 scored and 117.7 conceded produce a differential of only -3.5.

Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers team news and rotations

Los Angeles remain without Brandon Ingram, who has yet to make his Clippers debut after heel surgery uncovered a partially torn Achilles, and Bradley Beal, Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are also out.

Cam Christie is questionable with a right ankle sprain, Max Strus is only recently back from a partial plantar fascia tear, and the probable starters are Darius Garland, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Rui Hachimura and Isaiah Jackson, although Brook Lopez may take the centre spot instead, which leaves rookie Keaton Wagler as an important scoring option off the bench.

Phoenix are without centre Mark Williams, who is out after left shoulder labrum surgery, while Jordan Goodwin is a game-time decision after hurting his right calf on 2 November.

Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Oso Ighodaro are the probable starters, with Collin Gillespie the first guard off the bench.

Suns vs. Clippers: the matchups that could decide it

Garland carries the creation load for a Clippers side missing Ingram and Beal, and he faces Booker, who has taken on even more of the scoring burden for a Phoenix team that has struggled to stop opponents.

In the frontcourt, Bridges' work on the boards takes on added weight with Williams out, and Hachimura's accuracy has to improve if the Clippers are to stretch the floor against Phoenix's bigs.

Player props for Suns vs. Clippers

Each of the three prop leans rests on a role that has grown as the injury lists have lengthened, with Garland and Booker handling most of the creation for their teams and Bridges the main rebounder left to Phoenix with Mark Williams out.

Head-to-head record between the Clippers and Suns

Phoenix have won seven of the last 10 meetings, although only the Clippers' 117-93 win on 1 February is less than a year old.

Last season's series finished level at 2-2, and Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac featured in several of the older meetings but none of them are with the Clippers now.

The Suns also won the last two playoff series between the sides, 4-2 in the 2021 Western Conference finals and 4-1 in the 2023 first round.

Our Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers prediction

Los Angeles have lost all four road games, which is the obvious argument for backing Phoenix, but the Suns are only 3-3 at home and a back-to-back against a rested opponent makes a comfortable win hard to trust.

A narrow Phoenix win looks the most likely outcome, since the Suns' home offence and the Clippers' road defence both point to a high-scoring game that Phoenix close out through their edge in ball security.