Wigan host leaders Leeds with hopes to close gap at top of Super League

Wigan will be hoping to bounce back against Leeds following a 17-6 defeat against Warrington last time out. The Warriors are odds-on at 4/7 to beat their West Yorkshire opponents and coach Shaun Wane knows the task his players face.

“Leeds are the best team in the competition so training is a little bit more intense and the lads are ready for it,” he said. “They have trained really well this week and they know it is going to be a really huge game for us.

“Recently we have been inconsistent. I am not happy with the way we are playing. They’ve done some good things in games and have also done some poor things at certain times so I just want to find that consistency in our performance.”

The only player to score in Wigan’s defeat to the Wolves was prolific winger Dom Manfredi, who has been in top form since his return from injury though is unavailable for the match.

This means that Josh Charnley is expected to deputise and has 7/1 odds to score first, while Super League’s top try-scorer Joe Burgess with 19, is odds-on at 8/13 to cross anytime.

Leeds will come to DW Stadium pumped and raring to go, after thrashing Wigan’s fierce rivals St Helens 46-18 last time out. Most of their big guns also got on the scoresheet, with Ryan Hall crossing twice and youngster Ash Handley getting a hat-trick.

They are 7/1 and 11/1 respectively to score first, and manager Brian McDermott, who has just been appointed USA coach alongside his Leeds duties, praised his side’s performance against the Saints.

“We nailed our chances early,” he said. “I don’t think we were actually that dominant. We were not brilliant but we did score 22 points in that first half. We were really clinical when we got the chance to score.”

Following their performance and the Cherry and Whites’ capitulation against the Wolves, odds of 6/4 for the visitors to win are definitely worth considering.