Crossword Genius

Fight expected to start late (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

duel

'fight' is the definition.
(duel is a kind of fight)

'expected to start late' is the wordplay.
'expected' becomes 'due' (I've seen this before).
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'start' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'late' is 'l'.
'due'+'l'='DUEL'

(Other definitions for duel that I've seen before include "Contest between two with deadly weapons" , "One got satisfaction from this" , "Two-person combat" , "Prearranged fight with deadly weapons between two people" , "Fight to the death between two people" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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