AUSTRALIA will be keen to break a 45-year Federation Cup drought when it faces France in Perth over the weekend. With world number one Ash Barty leading the green and gold charge, Australia has toppled its red, white and blue counterparts on five out of six occasions and will be keen to extend that winning formula in the clash over November 9-10.

While Barty is the standout player in the match-up, captain Alicia Molik will have quite a challenge on her hands to pick the second singles player. Molik has kept tight-lipped over whether she opts for one-time Grand Slam winner Samantha Stosur, or uncapped talent, Ajla Tomljanovic. Stosur’s form on home soil over her career has been nothing short of forgettable, which might see Molik lean towards handing Tomljanovic the most unlikely of Fed Cup debuts. The other two players named in the Australian squad are Astra Sharma – ranked 108 – and young gun Priscilla Hon – ranked 126.

On the other side of the court is an even French squad with four players ranked inside the top 63. Kristina Mladenovic will lead the charge ranked 40 in the world, while Caroline Garcia (45) is not far behind her. The advantage with Mladenovic is she is the world number two in doubles likely to pair up with Alize Cornet – ranked 111 in doubles – who will likely be prepared to take over in the singles being the third ranked singles player at 60. Fiona Ferro (63) and the ageless Pauline Parmentier (122) are the remaining two players in the five-player French squad.

The overall tie will likely lie with whether or not the second Australian player can win a singles, though not all the burden should be placed on Barty’s young shoulders. In their last match in Rome earlier this year, it was Mladenovic who toppled Barty convincingly 6-2 6-3 in the Round of 16, but given it was the Frenchwoman’s preferred surface – though the Australian did win Roland Garros – it was not as much of a shock as many gave it credit. A year earlier, Barty handed Mladenovic a similar beating, 6-3 6-2 at Eastbourne on grass. Funnily enough, the pair also faced off twice in doubles – with them also sharing a win each – but not since 2014.

The argument about who should take the second player spot will work in Stosur’s favour if head-to-heads are anything to go by. The veteran Australian has won four of a possible five games against the number one Frenchwoman. The only issue? She won the four matches between 2013-2015, with Mladenovic winning 7-5 7-5 on the hard surface at Indian Wells last year. Mladenovic is also yet to beat Tomljanovic, but those results are even more irrelevant in terms of accuracy with both of the Australia’s wins coming back in 2014.

In the all important second match-up, Garcia has defeated Stosur in the one main draw match three years ago, winning 6-4 6-3 on hard court in China. She is yet to face Tomljanovic over the journey. Garcia has met Barty three times – all surprisingly in China and on hard court – winning on their first head-to-head two years ago in the Wuhan final, but Barty has since levelled with two victories over the past two years.

Predicting the result is difficult, though having the world number one is always an advantage. Barty should win both her singles, meaning Australia needs just one more rubber from either the second singles player, or the doubles. The suggestion could be to play Tomljanovic in the singles to save Stosur – the better doubles player – for the doubles with her and Barty likely to start favourites in that game even with the number two ranked Mladenovic up the other end.

Prediction: Australia 3 – 2 France