The Super League heads to Elland Road for the next round of games as the Leeds venue plays host to the Magic Weekend for the first time, with the opening game of the festival of rugby league seeing Hull FC taking on the London Broncos.
These two are the bottom two in the table and usually this one would have a huge bearing on who would exit Super League this season but with the uncertainty about the competition moving forward that isn’t the case so hopefully we’ll get an entertaining opener.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Action channel with the build-up to the weekend opener beginning at 2pm ahead of the 2.30pm kick off.
Hull FC
Hull FC have won just three matches out of the 21 that they have played this season but one of those was against the London Broncos so they will be fairly confident of going to Elland Road and picking up a win which will ease them further away from London at the bottom of the table. To be fair to Hull FC, their last win was against the champions Wigan Warriors so when they get it right they can literally beat anyone in the competition.
Since that win over Wigan though, Hull FC have lost three matches in succession and only scored 34 points in the three games combined. In the last two outings they have shipped 42 and 46 points so suddenly the Black and Whites are underperforming at both ends of the pitch. All three Hull FC wins this season have come at home so if they are going to come out on top here then they are going to have to do something they haven’t done all campaign – win away from the MKM Stadium.
London Broncos
The London Broncos are one worse than Hull FC when it comes to three wins because they only have two but one of their victories was just a fortnight ago when they overcame the Catalans Dragons. The other win came against Hull FC which will give them some sort of belief that they can upset the applecart here. This is likely to be their last Magic Weekend with them unlikely to be in the Super League next term so the Broncos have plenty of motivation to perform here.
The Broncos head into this one with just one win in their last 10 matches and while there have been a few blowouts in that run, there have also been some competitive games in there so when they play like they can then they can trouble any side, something else which will give them a bit of confidence that they can beat their fellow strugglers. With nothing to lose and a platform to showcase themselves on we should expect London to at least throw the ball around and give this a good go.
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Team News
Hull FC have a bunch of players back from the defeat to the Leigh Leopards last week. Jordan Lane, Brad Fash and Ligi Sao return from suspension while Ed Chamberlain has passed head injury protocols and Jack Ashworth is back from injury. Eight players remain out injured including Jake Trueman and Danny Houghton.
London Broncos’ Director of Rugby, Mike Eccles, has made just one change to the squad which was competitive against Warrington Wolves last week. That sees Jensen Monk coming in for Matt Davies. Jack Campagnolo is in the squad which is important.
Betting
I certainly wouldn’t put anyone off taking the London Broncos on the nose here but these are two sides who don’t win many matches and I wouldn’t really want either of these to be carrying my money in the latter stages if this one gets tight but there is no doubt that London can play with a bit more freedom as they are unlikely to be around in the Super League next season, whereas as Super League stalwarts, Hull FC really need to turn themselves around at some point.
The safer bet though is to take the Broncos with a large looking 10 point start. Even when Hull FC beat London in Hull earlier in the season, the capital dwellers covered this handicap as it needed a late try to win the game for the Black and Whites. London got their revenge in emphatic nature in the reverse meeting. Hull FC do get one or two players back here but they have a hugely long injury list and have shipped 40 points in each of their last two matches. This one feels like London can stay within 10.
Tips
Back London Broncos (+10) to beat Hull FC for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
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