The Super League is back after the Challenge Cup break on Thursday night and we get going again with a huge clash between the bottom two in the division as the Widnes Vikings host the Leigh Centurions. The mid-season split is getting ever closer so this becomes a massive clash in the fight for survival.
The winner of this match will keep their feint hopes of making the top eight alive but more importantly will give them a chance of an extra home game in the qualifiers while the loser will be left to dwell on where it went wrong and prepare to go through the middle 8s.
Widnes Vikings
I think most people expected Widnes Vikings to struggle this season after Kevin Brown departed for Warrington and then when you add in the insane amount of injuries they have had it is no surprise that they have found life as tough as they have this year but there have been shoots of a revival recently.
They have won two of their last three and gave Castleford a good test recently too so they might be hitting form at the right time. Whether that is for a dart for the top eight or to hit the qualifiers in a good place we’ll know in a few weeks time but now is certainly not a bad time in the year to start winning matches.
Leigh Centurions
I guess in many ways nobody knew quite what to expect from the Leigh Centurions this season. I don’t think anyone thought they would be Grand Final contenders or anything like that but some saw them making the top eight and others thought they would find the going a little tougher in with the big boys.
Leigh have particularly found the going tough on the road this season and they are going to have to sort that out at some point as if they lose this match and finish in the bottom two they will have to play an extra away match in the qualifiers so in so many ways this is a massive match for the Centurions.
Team News
Widnes Vikings have Joe Mellor and Chris Bridge back in their squad for this one which could be significant while Greg Burke and Lloyd White’s returns will certainly help too.
Leigh welcome Ben Crooks, Atelea Vea and James Green back for this match while Nick Rawsthorne has also been included in the squad having arrived for a month from Hull FC.
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Betting
This is sure to be a tight and tense tussle given the magnitude of what is potentially at stake and it will be interesting to know how this one plays out. I make Widnes the favourites in the match but at the same time they are probably the ones under the most pressure given their status over recent seasons.
You can make a case for Leigh being value in this one but their away record makes it hard to part with any hard earned on them so I’m going to take a watching brief here and assess both sides ahead of what is to come.
Tips
No Bet
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