Preview: Leigh Leopards vs Wigan Warriors – prediction, team news, lineups

The Leigh Sports Village is expected to welcome a capacity crowd as the Leigh Leopards prepare to take on defending champions Wigan Warriors in a tasty Friday night Super League clash.

The Leopards will be looking to close the gap on the top two, while the Warriors will be aiming for an improved performance after avoiding a shock defeat against the Castleford Tigers last time out.

Match preview

There was a mix of emotions for Leigh head coach Adrian Lam last Friday as he watched his men suffer a 48-30 defeat against Leeds Rhinos away at Headingley.

While Leigh became the first team this season to put 30 points on the Rhinos, their attacking efforts were overshadowed by a poor defensive display, which saw them concede a total of eight tries – the most in a single game this term.

The result ended Leigh’s impressive run of three successive victories, which saw them topple the Huddersfield Giants, Wakefield Trinity, and the Catalans Dragons, all away from home.

Last week’s defeat has seen the Leopards drop to fourth in the standings, with Lam’s men now trailing Leeds by a point, Wigan by five, and the league leaders Hull KR by nine.

For all their defensive concerns, Leigh will fancy their chances against a Warriors side, which is experiencing a dip in form.

Matt Peet’s men survived a thrilling night at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle last week, as the Warriors bagged a 77th minute try to complete an epic comeback against Castleford.

This was not the first time that Wigan needed a late score to salvage a result, with the Warriors scoring a last-minute winner against Huddersfield at the start of June.

Sandwiched between those two victories was a 16-10 defeat away against Wakefield Trinity – a run of games which underlines Wigan’s current dip in form.

The Cherry and Whites defeated Leigh by eight points when the two teams met back in May. Considering their current struggles, the Warriors would certainly settle for a repeat of that result.

Leigh Leopards form: LWWWL

Wigan Warriors form: WLWWW

Team News

Leigh have included David Armstrong in their 21-man squad, but the player remains a doubt after picking up an injury against Leeds.

Darnell McIntosh, who was also hurt at Headingley, drops out of the squad and will be joined on the sidelines by Robbie Mulhern.

Alec Tuitavake is back in the team following his suspension and will be joined by summer recruits Andrew Badrock and AJ Towse.

Wigan are not exactly firing on all cylinders, but they will be boosted this Friday by the return of influential winger Abbas Miski.

Liam Marshall has also made the 21-man squad, despite limping off against Wakefield a fortnight ago and rolling his ankle away in Castleford last week.

Wigan are still without the suspended Harvie Hill, while Jacob Douglas drops out of the squad to make room for Miski.

Leigh Leopards predicted lineup: Hodgson, McIntosh, Charnley, Hanley, Niu, O’Brien, Lam, Ofahengaue, Trout, Ipape, Hughes, O’Neill, Liu; Tuitavake, Davis, Dwyer, McNamara

Wigan Warriors predicted lineup: Field, Miski, Eckersley, Keighran, Wardle, Smith, O’Neill, Thompson, Byrne, Leeming, Nsemba, Ellis, Farrell; Mago, Dupree, Walters, Hill

We say: Leigh Leopards 24-20 Wigan Warriors

When these two teams met in the first Super League game of the season, we were treated to a 1-0 thriller. While we are expecting another close game, we should see a few more points on the scoreboard.

With Wigan in the midst of a dip in form, we are backing the Leigh Leopards to delight the home crowd and bag an important win.

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