pakistan hockey team
The Pakistan team have struggled for form in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2016 Getty

Pakistan take on Japan in their sixth game of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2016 at Ipoh, Malaysia, on 15 April (Friday).

Where to watch live

Match starts at 9.05am BST/1.35pm IST. There is no live coverage of the game in the UK. In India, live coverage is available on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 3. It can be viewed via live stream on StarSports.

Overview

Pakistan face Japan in what is a bottom of the table clash of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on 15 April (Friday). The Men In Green come into this game on the back of a 1-0 loss to hosts Malaysia, in what was their first defeat to them in over three years.

Pakistan have had a disastrous tournament so far, winning only one game and losing four matches to keep them in sixth place in the points table, with three points from five games. As with Pakistan sports, there has been a controversy with the former players blaming the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) of not picking players based on merit. The team will be looking to salvage some pride and exit the tournament with a win.

Their opponents, Japan, have had an even more disappointing tournament, losing all the five games played. They have stuck to the bottom of the points table with zero points on board.

The Japanese have conceded 16 goals so far — the same as their opponents — and have struggled, especially in defence. However, they will be looking to register their first win in what is their last game of the league.

Team news

Pakistan

Goalkeepers: Imran Butt, Mazhar Abbas

Defenders: Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Irfan (C), Syed Kashif Shah

Midfielders: Fareed Ahmed, Muhammad Rizwan junior, Muhammad Toseeq Arshad, Rashid Mahmood, Ammad Shakeel Butt

Forwards: Muhammad Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool, Muhammad Umar Bhutta, Muhammad Kashif Ali, Muhammad Dilber, Muhammad Rizwan Senior, Ali Shan, Muhammad Azfar Yaqoob

Japan

Goalkeepers: Takashi Yoshikawa, Akiyo Saito

Defenders: Koji Kayukawa, Manabu Yamashita, Hirotaka Zendana, Shota Yamada, Kenji Kitazato

Midfielders: Kazuma Murata, Suguru Hoshi, Seren Tanaka, Hiromasa Ochiai, Takuya Kinoshita, Tsubasa Yamamizu

Forwards: Hiroki Sakamoto, Kenta Tanaka, Koshi Yamasaki, Kentaro Fukuda, Akihiro Watanabe