Mark Petchey says Japans world No 6 Kei Nishikori offers Great Britain a different test to anything they faced in their Davis Cup triumph last year. Britain begin the defence of the trophy they won in November when they take on Japan in Birmingham this weekend and hopes are high of a potential repeat triumph.With world No 2 Andy Murray in the team, Leon Smiths squad were always strong favourites last year and Murray dropped just two sets in his eight singles rubbers along the way to glory. Evans gets GB nod Leon Smith names team for Japan tie But world No 6 Nishikori is a more than capable performer and already has a title under his belt this year having won in Memphis in February.Murray has a 5-1 winning record over the Japanese No 1, his only defeat coming at the 2014 World Tour Finals, but Petchey believes another top ten ranked player gives the tie a different look. Obviously last year you always felt Andy had the edge in the singles, it always felt like he was the better player in the one v ones. If he tees it up against Kei his superiority on the court is not going to be quite as overwhelming, Petchey told Sky Sports. Great Britain won the Davis Cup in 2015 That is something that gives a different dynamic heading into this tie to anything they had to deal with last year.Lets not underestimate the Japanese team, there is an awful lot of class with Nishikori and with [Taro] Daniel as well who is certainly not to be underestimated.Petchey concedes Britain go into the World Group first-round tie as likely winners despite the prospect of a tough encounter that could go all the way to Sundays final singles rubber - saying Murrays return to action for the first time since his Australian Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic and home advantage should give them the edge. Andy Murrays (right) lost just two sets in eight singles rubbers last year I think they are favourites given what they achieved last year, confidence is high amongst the team and Andy is playing, Petchey added.Despite having a lay-off since Australia I dont see any real problems with him coming back in and hitting the ground running. He knows how to hit a tennis ball, thats not going to have been forgotten amongst the nappy duty! Magical Murray role Remebering Andy Murrays role in Davis Cup glory Its at home, having won it last year the atmosphere will be phenomenal when they walk out on Friday. From that perspective there is not going to be any lack of desire from that team to put in a performance.Having ended a 79-year wait for Davis Cup glory, Petchey believes Great Britain could play with greater freedom having finally won the trophy - but admits things could go the other way with a degree of expectancy now on the team.Expectations are high and you can argue things either way, the Sky Sports expert said.The pressure to defend, wanting to go deep, have another deep run this year and the feeling it gave British tennis after the team did so well. But on the other hand they have won it, so the pressure is off to a large degree as theyve shown that as a team they are able to go on and win it. You could argue that it is now a slightly easier tie for Britain.The feeling is good within British tennis and the Davis Cup camp is strong. GBs route to Davis Cup glory We plot the path to a Great Britain repeat Whenever you have got some like Andy committed to a cause in the manner he was last year and clearly is going to be in the opening tie, you have got a great shot of repeating - a lot will depend on Andys season in terms of what he plays with the Olympics being this year.That is one of those unknown variables this year in terms of how far this team can go. If he is able to come out for every tie than the odds of defending the cup go up significantly. Also See: Evans gets GB nod GBs route to 2016 glory.... Magical Murray Zeroes to heroes Nike Air Max 90 Cheap Wholesale . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. Cheap Air Max 90 Outlet . 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PARIS -- Mario Balotelli may lose count when he adds up the number of people he has to prove wrong this season.Among them, a former Liverpool stalwart who openly mocked the controversial strikers move to French side Nice.It is nearly one year since Balotelli scored a league goal, embarrassing for someone who once talked himself up as a Golden Ball winner.If selected on Sunday, he will look to end his drought in the home match against bitter southern rival Marseille, although Nice coach Lucien Favre is unsure whether he is ready.Things are going very well but well see if he plays, Favre said Friday at a pre-match news conference. Hes very positive, hes listening.Nice is Balotellis smallest club in a stop-start career that saw him grab headlines as a mesmerizing 17-year-old for Inter Milan.Pace, power, poise, skill, heading ability, strength back to goal and composure: Balotelli had absolutely everything.Except temperament.Balotelli is like Russian roulette, said Marseille defender Rod Fanni, who could face him on Sunday. Everythings good if his heads in the right place, everything wrong if his mind is elsewhere.In recent years, Balotellis antics off the field have become his trademark, not his performances.Since his last league goal -- for AC Milan against Udinese on Sept. 22 -- the 26-year-old Italian has netted only twice in the Italian Cup against third-division Alessandri.There have been some highs, however.In one of his best games for Manchester City he looked unstoppable when scoring the first two goals in a 6-1 hammering of Manchester United in October, 2011. On the final day of that season, in arguably the most telling contribution of his club career, his wonderfully composed pass set up Sergio Agueros last-gasp winner against Queens Park Rangers -- clinching the title and depriving United of it.Within two months, Italy reached the final of the 2012 European Championship, with Balotelli scoring both in the 2-1 semifinal wiin against Germany.dddddddddddd. That season is arguably when he peaked -- sad considering he was 21.Although he did well for Milan over the next two seasons, with a good return of 26 league goals in 43 games, he plummeted after joining Liverpool as a replacement for Barcelona-bound Luis Suarez in the summer of 2014.Over the past two seasons, he has mustered two league goals -- one in 16 games for Liverpool and a terrible return of 1 in 20 when loaned back to Milan. It seemed normal when former Italy coach Antonio Conte left him out of his Euro 2016 squad.Hardly the stuff of a Golden Ball contender, which was not lost on former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher. He derided Balotellis move to Nice, saying on Twitter that a free transfer was still over the odds.Carraghers sarcasm aside, one fact is hard to ignore: Balotelli is entering what should be his peak years at a mediocre French club.Ending up there, given all the clubs he could have played for ... it must have hurt his pride, Fanni said.Liverpool, Milan and city-rival Inter have won 15 European Cups between them, but Nice won the last of its four league titles in 1959 and its last trophy was the French Cup in 1997. Stars like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Suarez have graced Milans clubs and Liverpool.The biggest name to play for Nice is Frenchman Just Fontaine -- the record scorer for a single edition of the World Cup with 13 goals -- and that was 60 years ago.Whether Balotelli can grab the spotlight in Nice -- for the right reasons -- is a very big question.He has a lot of rebuilding to do, physically but also in terms of the runs he makes, his movement, Favre said. He hasnt played in friendly games and its a long time since he played a match.---This story has been corrected to remove reference to Carragher as teammate in the 2nd and 17th paragraphs. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '