Wigan have the opportunity to draw level alongside leaders Leeds in the Super League table on Friday night when they entertain Hull FC at the DW Stadium.
With Leeds not playing until Saturday a win for the Warriors will see them go level with Leeds at the top as the race for the leaders shield gets really serious.
Hull FC head across the Pennines with an injury battered squad which won’t help their chances of success. With nothing on the game from their point of view this will surely be about avoiding a tonking and getting to the end of the season as quickly as possible.
Wigan coach Shaun Wane has named the same squad which thrashed the Catalans Dragons in London last weekend and he’ll be asking his side for a similar performance particularly now they are back home having taken last week’s home game to Millwall FC’s ground.
Hull have been hampered by injuries for much of the season and it doesn’t help that Joe Westerman, Steve Michaels and Josh Bowden all picked up injuries which ended their season in their disappointing defeat to Warrington last week.
That means the Black and Whites could call on Masimbaashe Matongo and Ross Osborne from the academy to make their Super League debuts in this match. Such is their injury issues at the minutes they’ve only been able to name an 18 man squad rather than the traditional 19.
Hull FC boss Lee Radford called his players ‘mentally soft’ last week after they were humbled by an underperforming Warrington side. Quotes like that will either get a response with a good performance on the field or players lacking in motivation might pack the season in and the dressing room gets torn apart.
We’ll only truly know how that situation will play out after we’ve seen this match but one thing I think it is safe to assume based on Hull’s personnel struggles and Wigan’s excellent recent form is that the home side will win this match, the only real question is how many will they win it by?
The handicap is currently set to 32pts and even that I think is a bit low. Warrington have struggled in attack all season and they shoved 46pts on a stronger Hull side than the one which will take the field here so you’ve got to think Wigan will push the 50 barrier and I’m not sure Hull will get anywhere near 20pts if Wigan hit that mark.
Earlier in the season Hull FC’s arch rivals Hull KR went to the DW with half a side due to injuries and were hit with a 60-0 defeat. I’m expecting something similar here so I’m on Wigan with the cap in this one.
Back Wigan (-32) to beat Hull FC for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
