A break in the Super League programme sees the return of the Challenge Cup which is at the quarter final stage and features two all Super League ties and two Super League/Championship face-offs.
Tonight's first tie sees a cross league meeting between Super League side Widnes who play host to Championship side Keighley.
Widnes will be looking to go one better than last season when they exited the competition at this stage to eventual winners Wigan and with a good season so far that sees them seventh in Super League they well be buoyant and confident of a win that would put them only 80 minutes away from a return to Wembley for the first time since 1993.
Keighley are outsiders to advance due to the gulf between the leagues but in this competition anything can happen, proof of which is the fact that the Cougars have battled into the last eight. This will be their toughest test after considerably easier opposition in the earlier rounds followed by a tight win over Swinton in the previous round,
The sides met in Keighley's sole final appearance back in 1937 which saw Widnes triumph 18-5 but the hopes of an upset have dropped with the news that the visitors have named a 'weakened' squad.
Widnes are without captain Jon Clarke and the suspended Paddy Flynn while Keighley are missing player-coach Paul March who is currently midway through a stadium ban which included five successive wins for the Cougars before defeat to Halifax last week
Widnes-Allen, Brown, Clough, Craven, Dean, Galea, Gerrard, Gilmore, Hanbury, Isa, Hulme, Johnson, Kavanagh, Lawton, Leuluai, Marsh, Owens, Tickle, White.
Keighley- J. Sheriffe, Barnett, Williams, Graham, Duffy, Kelly, Stead, Law, Lee, Peltier, Eccleston, Pursglove, Sagar, Haigh, Patchett, Cherryholme, Lynam, Hesketh, J. Sheriffe.
Hard to see anything other than a Widnes win so Widnes 52 Keighley 12.
Friday night sees the second cross league tie of the round but as Championship side Leigh travel to face Super League side Leeds with the visitors in superb form with a 100% record in 2014.
Leigh sit top of the Championship having won all 13 games this season coupled with a trio of wins in this competition and have resisted the chance to rest some of their stars in order to give them the best possible chance of staging a shock at Headingley tomorrow night.
Leeds sit second in Super League after a good year so far but have stuttered in the past four weeks which saw them displaced at the top ruining the chance of a 'Battle of the Table Toppers' and despite being favourites will be wary of Leigh's strong attack which is spearheaded by top scorer Ryan Brierley who has 27 tries in 2014.
The two sides met at this stage in 2012 with Leeds triumphing 64-10 but Leigh have come a long way since that defeat and do have a good hope of gaining revenge while also putting them a single win away from a trip to Wembley.
Leigh are at full strength with the exception of the injured Cameron Pitman while Leeds are without the suspended Carl Ablett with Mitch Achurch sidelined with a knee injury meaning Josh Walters is set to make his senior debut.
Leeds- Hardaker, Jones-Bishop, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Leuluai, Peacock, Sinfield, S. Ward, Delaney, Bailey, Kirke, Clarkson, Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Singleton, Walters, R. Ward.
Leigh- McNally, Pownall, Higson, Armstrong, Kay, Wilkes, Penkywicz, Spencer, Sarsfield, Haggerty, Barlow, Hopkins, Emmitt, Beswick, Bate, Goulden, Acton, Ridyard, Brierley.
Form suggests this could be a tasty tie and though I will tip Leeds, It could be close so Leeds 36 Leigh 20.
Saturday afternoon sees holders Wigan host Castleford in the first part of a double header with the sides meeting in Super league next week.
The Tigers sit third in Super League and go into the game looking for a third successive win over the Warriors having won at the DW last June and with a last gasp win at The Jungle earlier this season. They are a side to be wary of as they are the Super League top scorers and boast the third best defence.
Wigan go into the game in fourth but with an extra game in the next fortnight they could displace the visitors but the focus will be placed solely on the defence of their title in what should be their toughest test so far.
Both sides will be eager to earn the win to boost confidence ahead of next week's league meeting but for Wigan there is the relief of a home draw against a Tigers side that have been stunning at The Jungle this season and may have been favourites as the result of a reverse draw.
The prospect of being a single win away from Wembley would be huge for Castleford after exiting at the fourth round stage last season while for Wigan being a step closer to retaining the trophy will boost what has been a brilliant last 12 months.
Wigan have have the better of Castleford in the last four cup meetings between the sides with the Tigers last win back in the 1986 quarter-final which saw them go on to lift the trophy.
Wigan's hopes have been boosted by the returning trio of Michael McIlorum, Liam Farrell and Ben Flower with Dan Sarginson also included in place of Darrell Goulding, Scott Taylor, Sam Powell and Connor Farrell while Castleford are without the injured Michael Channing who is replaced by Lee Jewitt.
Wigan: Bateman, Bowen, Burgess, Burke, Crosby, Dudson, L.Farrell, Flower, Gelling, Hampshire, Hughes, James, Manfredi, McIlorum, O'Loughlin, Sarginson, Smith, Sutton, Williams.
Castleford: Dixon, Shenton, Webster, Dorn, Sneyd, Lynch, Milner, Huby, Millington, Hauraki, Clark, Holmes, Mariano, Wheeldon, Ellis, Gibson, Clare, Finn, Jewitt.
This will be close but I see Wigan edging it on their return to the DW so Wigan 31 Castleford 30.
The final tie of the weekend sees Bradford host Warrington with the Bulls looking for a league and cup double at home to the Wolves in 2014.
Bradford go into the tie buoyant after a win over Wakefield last week though they still sit 13th and in danger of relegation but will have high hopes of recording a second win in the space of a week after staging a superb comeback to defeat Warrington 34-28 last month in Super League.
Warrington despite sitting fifth in Super League and coming into the tie on the back of a win over Leeds have had by their standards, a bad season so far which includes the defeat at Odsal a month and will be eager to advance to the last four in the hope of reaching a fourth final in six years having won their last three Wembley visits.
This game on paper would be a win for the visitors but last month's win for Bradford suggests it could be a close on but I will edge for the Wolves so Bradford 20 Warrington 32.
Tonight's first tie sees a cross league meeting between Super League side Widnes who play host to Championship side Keighley.
Widnes will be looking to go one better than last season when they exited the competition at this stage to eventual winners Wigan and with a good season so far that sees them seventh in Super League they well be buoyant and confident of a win that would put them only 80 minutes away from a return to Wembley for the first time since 1993.
Keighley are outsiders to advance due to the gulf between the leagues but in this competition anything can happen, proof of which is the fact that the Cougars have battled into the last eight. This will be their toughest test after considerably easier opposition in the earlier rounds followed by a tight win over Swinton in the previous round,
The sides met in Keighley's sole final appearance back in 1937 which saw Widnes triumph 18-5 but the hopes of an upset have dropped with the news that the visitors have named a 'weakened' squad.
Widnes are without captain Jon Clarke and the suspended Paddy Flynn while Keighley are missing player-coach Paul March who is currently midway through a stadium ban which included five successive wins for the Cougars before defeat to Halifax last week
Widnes-Allen, Brown, Clough, Craven, Dean, Galea, Gerrard, Gilmore, Hanbury, Isa, Hulme, Johnson, Kavanagh, Lawton, Leuluai, Marsh, Owens, Tickle, White.
Keighley- J. Sheriffe, Barnett, Williams, Graham, Duffy, Kelly, Stead, Law, Lee, Peltier, Eccleston, Pursglove, Sagar, Haigh, Patchett, Cherryholme, Lynam, Hesketh, J. Sheriffe.
Hard to see anything other than a Widnes win so Widnes 52 Keighley 12.
Friday night sees the second cross league tie of the round but as Championship side Leigh travel to face Super League side Leeds with the visitors in superb form with a 100% record in 2014.
Leigh sit top of the Championship having won all 13 games this season coupled with a trio of wins in this competition and have resisted the chance to rest some of their stars in order to give them the best possible chance of staging a shock at Headingley tomorrow night.
Leeds sit second in Super League after a good year so far but have stuttered in the past four weeks which saw them displaced at the top ruining the chance of a 'Battle of the Table Toppers' and despite being favourites will be wary of Leigh's strong attack which is spearheaded by top scorer Ryan Brierley who has 27 tries in 2014.
The two sides met at this stage in 2012 with Leeds triumphing 64-10 but Leigh have come a long way since that defeat and do have a good hope of gaining revenge while also putting them a single win away from a trip to Wembley.
Leigh are at full strength with the exception of the injured Cameron Pitman while Leeds are without the suspended Carl Ablett with Mitch Achurch sidelined with a knee injury meaning Josh Walters is set to make his senior debut.
Leeds- Hardaker, Jones-Bishop, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Leuluai, Peacock, Sinfield, S. Ward, Delaney, Bailey, Kirke, Clarkson, Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Singleton, Walters, R. Ward.
Leigh- McNally, Pownall, Higson, Armstrong, Kay, Wilkes, Penkywicz, Spencer, Sarsfield, Haggerty, Barlow, Hopkins, Emmitt, Beswick, Bate, Goulden, Acton, Ridyard, Brierley.
Form suggests this could be a tasty tie and though I will tip Leeds, It could be close so Leeds 36 Leigh 20.
Saturday afternoon sees holders Wigan host Castleford in the first part of a double header with the sides meeting in Super league next week.
The Tigers sit third in Super League and go into the game looking for a third successive win over the Warriors having won at the DW last June and with a last gasp win at The Jungle earlier this season. They are a side to be wary of as they are the Super League top scorers and boast the third best defence.
Wigan go into the game in fourth but with an extra game in the next fortnight they could displace the visitors but the focus will be placed solely on the defence of their title in what should be their toughest test so far.
Both sides will be eager to earn the win to boost confidence ahead of next week's league meeting but for Wigan there is the relief of a home draw against a Tigers side that have been stunning at The Jungle this season and may have been favourites as the result of a reverse draw.
The prospect of being a single win away from Wembley would be huge for Castleford after exiting at the fourth round stage last season while for Wigan being a step closer to retaining the trophy will boost what has been a brilliant last 12 months.
Wigan have have the better of Castleford in the last four cup meetings between the sides with the Tigers last win back in the 1986 quarter-final which saw them go on to lift the trophy.
Wigan's hopes have been boosted by the returning trio of Michael McIlorum, Liam Farrell and Ben Flower with Dan Sarginson also included in place of Darrell Goulding, Scott Taylor, Sam Powell and Connor Farrell while Castleford are without the injured Michael Channing who is replaced by Lee Jewitt.
Wigan: Bateman, Bowen, Burgess, Burke, Crosby, Dudson, L.Farrell, Flower, Gelling, Hampshire, Hughes, James, Manfredi, McIlorum, O'Loughlin, Sarginson, Smith, Sutton, Williams.
Castleford: Dixon, Shenton, Webster, Dorn, Sneyd, Lynch, Milner, Huby, Millington, Hauraki, Clark, Holmes, Mariano, Wheeldon, Ellis, Gibson, Clare, Finn, Jewitt.
This will be close but I see Wigan edging it on their return to the DW so Wigan 31 Castleford 30.
The final tie of the weekend sees Bradford host Warrington with the Bulls looking for a league and cup double at home to the Wolves in 2014.
Bradford go into the tie buoyant after a win over Wakefield last week though they still sit 13th and in danger of relegation but will have high hopes of recording a second win in the space of a week after staging a superb comeback to defeat Warrington 34-28 last month in Super League.
Warrington despite sitting fifth in Super League and coming into the tie on the back of a win over Leeds have had by their standards, a bad season so far which includes the defeat at Odsal a month and will be eager to advance to the last four in the hope of reaching a fourth final in six years having won their last three Wembley visits.
This game on paper would be a win for the visitors but last month's win for Bradford suggests it could be a close on but I will edge for the Wolves so Bradford 20 Warrington 32.
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