The Warrington Wolves will find out who they will face in the Super League Grand Final on Friday night when the second semi-final of the competition takes place at the DW Stadium as the Wigan Warriors go up against the Castleford Tigers.
Both sides have been to Old Trafford in recent years and we know both will be desperate to get back there. The two go into this contest knowing they are 80 minutes away from a return to the Theatre of Dreams.
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Wigan Warriors
Although this is a knockout semi-final with everything on the line it is also the final home match in charge for Wigan coach Shaun Wane and we can be certain he will be looking to go out on a high so I expect Wigan to deliver their very best performance in this match. They need to be careful not to put too much pressure on themselves to the extent that they don’t perform.
Wigan go into the match off the back of an eight match winning run but they saw on Thursday night that form counts for nothing in these knockout matches so they will need to perform if they want to make it to Old Trafford. They will need to be defensively proficient against a team who are dangerous on their day.
Castleford Tigers
Having made it to Old Trafford for the first time last year, the Castleford Tigers will be eyeing up another shot at overall glory. This hasn’t been as good a campaign as the last one was for the Yorkshire side but that can all change if they can see off the Warriors over an 80 minute semi-final here.
We all know about the Castleford attacking unit but we need to see their defensive steel in this semi-final if they are to have any chance of making it to Old Trafford. You also get the feeling that they need a good start but they are a classy act who are capable of scoring from anywhere. If they bring their best game to the party they can beat anyone.
Team News
Wigan will have their captain Sean O’Loughlin back for this contest after he has recovered from injury. Tommy Leuluai and Liam Farrell are also in the squad and will be pushing to feature from the get go.
Castleford Tigers rested a number of players for their defeat at St Helens last week but they are all expected to return to a close to full strength Tigers unit for this one. Luke Gale could be the key man for the Tigers.
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Betting
We saw a shock in the opening semi-final and I think the Castleford Tigers are value to deliver another one in this match. All of the pressure is on Wigan in this match and as we saw on Thursday night that is not always the best situation to be in.
The Tigers have little to lose in this one given that few expect them to win so this could be one of those occasions where much like last season the handbrake comes off and they throw the ball around to devastating effect. A lot is being made of Shaun Wane wanting to go out at Old Trafford but Castleford might ruin the fairy tale.
Tips
Back Castleford Tigers to beat Wigan Warriors for a 3/10 stake at 2.88 with Betfair
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