Preview: Warrington Wolves vs Hull FC – prediction, team news, lineups

Warrington Wolves will be looking to hit the restart button on their season when they welcome Hull FC to the Halliwell Jones Stadium this Saturday.

Wire slumped to a new low last week as they suffered their ninth defeat of the Super League season, while Hull FC are looking to strengthen their playoff ambitions with a successive win.

Match preview

Pushing Hull KR to the very limit in the Challenge Cup final gave Warrington Wolves hope that a turning point in their Super League season was just around the corner – instead, results have deteriorated even further.

Just a few days on from their Wembley heartbreak against the Robins, Sam Burgess and his men went to Headingley, where they suffered a 36-12 defeat at the hands of the Leeds Rhinos.

Putting the scoreline aside, Warrington had a number of positive moments, especially at the start of the game, as they kept their opponents at bay for the opening half-hour.

However, any spark of positivity was quickly extinguished as Wire slumped to a hugely disappointing 24-16 defeat to the out-of-form Huddersfield Giants last weekend – a loss that leaves Warrington five points adrift of the top six.

With 12 regular season games remaining, there is still enough time for the Wolves to salvage the situation and force themselves back into the playoff conversation.

Winning against teams in their vicinity will be pivotal, and Saturday’s fixture certainly falls into that category as Warrington host sixth-placed Hull FC.

The Black and Whites are in the midst of an extraordinary season, which has seen them emerge as playoff contenders despite failing to win a single home game.

John Cartwright’s men got the better of Warrington when the two teams last met, winning 28-16 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium at the start of April.

Hull FC will certainly fancy their chances of going back-to-back against Wire, especially with the Yorkshire outfit boasting a solid run of three wins from their last four outings – all three of which came on the road.

Nobody has won as many away games as Hull FC in the Super League this season, while only the Wigan Warriors have managed to score more points than the Black and Whites on their travels.

Warrington Wolves form: LLLWL

Hull FC form: WLWWL

Team News

Warrington Wolves included Stefan Ratchford in the 21-man squad for the game with Huddersfield Giants, but the 36-year-old did not even make the bench.

Sam Stone made his debut for Wire last week, replacing the absent James Harrison, and he is expected to keep his place in the team.

Denive Balmforth will be unavailable for Hull FC after jetting off to Perpignan and joining the Catalans Dragons on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Logan Moy replaced Will Hutchinson in the 21-man squad last week and could keep his place in the side for Saturday’s trip to Warrington.

The same goes for Jordan Rapana, who replaced Will Pryce at full-back away at Salford last week.

Warrington Wolves predicted lineup: Josh Thewlis, Jake Thewlis, Tai, Wrench, King, Williams, Sneyd, Yates, Crowther, Vaughan, Stone, Fitzgibbon, Currie; Powell, Thomas, Philbin, Wood

Hull FC predicted lineup: Rapana, Barron, Briscoe, Litten, Martin, Cust, Sezer, Ese’Ese, Bourouh, Knight, Hardaker, Chamberlain, Aydin; Ashworth, Eseh, Charles, Fash

We say: Warrington Wolves 18-24 Hull FC

Warrington Wolves have won just one of their last six matches across all competitions, marking their biggest slump of the season.

Hull FC, on the other hand, have won three of their last four and are the most dangerous team in the competition when it comes to playing away from home. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to get the win.

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