It’s the big one – the most anticipated game of the Betfred Super League season to date.
St Helens, 13/8 favourites to win the Grand Final, are looking to regain their spot on top of the table against new leaders Warrington Wolves, 7/4, on Friday night.
It represents by far the biggest, most decisive match-up of the season that may well tell us plenty about who has the best claims for winning the Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 12.
Saints had very much been the dominant force in the league before losing their 100 per cent record when falling 18-10 to Catalans in Perpignan last week, which Wire took full advantage of by thrashing London Broncos to sit pretty at the top of the table thanks to a superior points difference.
These two sides are, like Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League, running away from the rest of the pack and this tie comes at the perfect time.
It’s set to be an absolute cracker on Friday and all eyes, our eyes especially, will be glued to the television to watch this one. Who’s going to take the spoils (Saints 4/7, Warrington 6/4, Tie 20/1)?
Elsewhere, there’s just the three Betfred Super League ties with Challenge Cup commitments ongoing, starting with Huddersfield Giants vs Castleford Tigers on Thursday night.
The Giants were edged out very narrowly by Wakefield last time out and will be coming into this home tie with something to prove and plenty of confidence.
However, Castleford are riding high for a reason and are just off the back of an impressive victory over Wigan, so it could well be a tough night for the home side (Huddersfield 13/8, Castleford 8/15, Tie 22/1).
Also on Friday, running alongside the big one, is Wakefield Trinity hosting Wigan Warriors.
This one is a very tough game to call given Wakefield have enjoyed a better-than-expected season to date and the Warriors seem to just now be finding their feet.
It seems very much a must win for Adrian Lam’s Wigan, who have been a shadow of their 2018 Grand Final winning selves so far, and Trinity certainly won’t make it an easy one (Wakefield EVS, Wigan 10/11, Tie 18/1).
Finally, Catalans look to build on their mightily impressive triumph over Saints, where they handed the then league leaders their first defeat of the season, with a victory over Hull FC.
The French side are an unpredictable team but have proved they can defeat anyone in the league on their day – boasting wins against the two favourites already this campaign.
It’s going to be a very tough trip to Perpignan for the Black and Whites, who may well struggle to make their mark on the game (Catalans 4/7, Hull FC 6/4, Tie 20/1).
