As the season enters its final third, this week features round 19 which could see a lot of moving about in the table with a lot of sides closely placed.
Tonight's game acts as a dress rehearsal for the next month's Challenge Cup semi finals as Widnes host Castleford.
Widnes come into the game off the back of a battling win over London that ended a poor run of form which saw some heavy defeats and with the relief of facing the Tigers at home, there are hopes that they can reduce the gap to the top six.
Castleford come into the game after a last-gasp win over Salford, a win that put them fourth but with three other sides also on 24 points they could be as high as third tonight or as low as sixth come 5pm on Sunday.
Last season's meeting at the Select Security stadium saw the Tigers come away with a narrow 38-42 victory which would make for a superb repeat due to the game being televised on Sky. The prospect of a high scoring game is likely due to the teams combining for 56 points in the reverse meeting with Castleford winning 34-22 at the Jungle.
Widnes include Liam Carberry who is in line for his first appearance of 2014 while Castleford welcome back Michael Channing and Oliver Holmes in place of Frankie Mariano and Jake Webster.
Widnes- Ah Van, Allen, Brown, Cahill, Carberry, Clarke, Dean, Flynn, Galea, Gerrard, Hanbury, Isa, Joseph, Kavanagh, Leuluai, Mellor, Phelps, Tickle, White
Castleford- Dixon, Shenton, Carney, Dorn, Sneyd, Lynch, Milner, Huby, Millington, Hauraki, Massey, Clark, Holmes, Wheeldon, Ellis, Channing, Finn, Jewitt, Carvell.
Form suggests Widnes may struggle so I will go for Castleford so Widnes 22 Castleford 36.
Friday night sees two games with the televised action coming from Wakefield as they play host to Leeds.
Wakefield go into the game on the back two good performances with a win over Wigan followed by a 20 all draw with Hull with the visitors levelling right at the end preventing the Wildcats from three successive wins at home though Leeds will be a tougher test.
Leeds come into the game with a sigh of relief after a last-gasp win over Catalan with Liam Sutcliffe the hero in the final seconds to secure a 32-31 win that gave them a three point gap in second place over the chasing pack.
Last season, Leeds won a tense tie with a 24-31 victory but which is a far cry from this season which saw them win 42-6 in the reverse meeting and also hammered the Wildcats in the Challenge Cup.
Wakefield are without Danny Kirmond and Lucas Walshaw with Max Jowitt and Jimmy Keinhorst while Leeds include Kevin Sinfield with Robbie Ward, Elliot Minchella and Luke Briscoe.
Wakefield- Mathers, Riley, D. Smith, Keinhorst, Sykes, Godinet, Anderson, McShane, Gilmour, Jowitt, Washbrook, Ryan, Owen, Moore, T. Smith, Tautai, Lyne, Scruton, Raleigh.
Leeds- Jones-Bishop, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Leuluai, Aiton, Peacock, Sinfield, S. Ward, Delaney, Bailey, T. Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Singleton, Minchella, Walters, R. Ward, L. Briscoe.
Despite their good form, Wakefield could be humbled her but I will game and saw a close one so Wakefield 24 Leeds 30.
Tommorow night's other game sees Warrington travel to face Hull FC with the visitors looking to continue a stellar winning run.
Hull come into the game on the back of a tense 20 all draw at Wakefield with a Westerman conversion from the touchline securing the division of the points. The Airlie Birds are on the fringes of the top eight and depending on the Widnes result could be a long way off.
Warrington come into the game after a strong win over struggling Bradford and extended their fine winning run to seven and with sit fourth level on points with Wigan, Castleford and Huddersfield so will look to take advantage of playing before two of their rivals.
Last season, Warrington secured a 10-24 win at the KC stadium and would be happy with a repeat rather than the tight win they secured in this seasons reverse meeting that saw them edge a 18-16 win.
Hull retain Jordan Abdull meaning Jacob Miller misses out with Callum Lancaster replacing Tom Lineham while Warrington are missing Simon Grix with Joe Philbin comes into the squad.
Hull -Abdull, Bowden, Ellis, Hadley, Heremaia, Horne, Houghton, Lancaster, Miller, Paea, Paleaaesina, Sa, Shaul, Talanoa, Thompson, Tuson, Watts, Whiting, Yeaman
Warrington -Asotasi, Atkins, C Bridge, Currie, Dwyer, England, R Evans, Harrison, Higham, Hill, King, J Monaghan, O’Brien, Ormsby, Philbin, Ratchford, Riley, Russell, Westwood
This could be great game based on the reverse meeting but I see Warrington sealing a win so Hull 18 Warrington 26.
Saturday afternoon features two games with the most standout tie being Wigan's trip down to face London with the Broncos still searching for their first win of 2014.
Wigan come into the game on the back of defeats to Wakefield and St Helens which saw them go from first to third in the space of a week and depending on other results could be as low as fifth before they kick off.
London go into the game still without a win this season but showing improvement in their performances but suffered a 24-42 loss to Widnes last week. Despite losing all 18 games, they are still not mathematically relegated and a first win coming against Wigan would be the shock of the season so far.
Last season, Wigan humbled London in a 4-64 win and also registered a heavy loss just under a year ago when they demolished the Broncos 70-0 in the last four of the Challenge Cup. However, this season Wigan were one of the sides that London caused trouble for as they led 6-10 at the DW before losing 36-14.
Wigan welcome back Eddy Pettybourne and Tony Clubb from long injuries with young Fullback Lewis Tierney included with Liam Farrell replacing Sean O'Loughlin while London include Ben Farrar, Jordan Atkins, Maxime Herold, Jon Wallace and Joel Wicks with Erjon Dollapi, James Duckworth, James Greenwood, Joe Keyes, James Woodburn-Hall and Mike McMeeken missing out.
London-Jordan Atkins, Matt Cook, James Cunningham, Josh Drinkwater, Ben Farrar, Alex Foster, George Griffin, Max Herold, Olsi Krasniqi, Will Lovell, Iliess Macani, Thomas Minns, Scott Moore, Jamie O'Callaghan, Nick Slyney, Denny Solomona, Atelea Vea, Jon Wallace, Joel Wicks
Wigan-Bateman, Matt Bowen, Joe Burgess, Greg Burke, Josh Charnley, Tony Clubb, Dom Crosby, Gil Dudson, Liam Farrell, Anthony Gelling, Jack Hughes, Jordan James, Eddy Pettybourne, Sam Powell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Scott Taylor, Lewis Tierney, George Williams.
Despite London's recent improvement this could be a bad day for them so London 12 Wigan 48.
Huddersfield host Salford in the day's other game with Giants looking to dent the Red Devils push away from the bottom two.
Huddersfield come into the game on the back of a narrow win over Hull KR which continued their good run of form which includes victories over Wigan and Leeds and with the top six so close together they will hop to take advantage of their rivals.
Salford come into the game after a last-gasp defeat to Castleford and despite being nine points clear of the relegation places are still not mathematically safe so need to bounce back to winning ways.
Last season, Huddersfield eased to a 46-4 win something that they would be glad to repeat while also looking to secure a league double after a 22-42 win in the reverse meeting at the AJ Bell stadium.
Huddersield name an unchanged squad from their round 18 win while Salford include new signing Kevin Locke after his arrival from the NRL just days ago.
Huddersfield- Grix, McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, Brough, Robinson, Crabtree, Kopczak, Ferres, Chan, Bailey, Lawrence, Patrick, Faiumu, Ta'ai, Wood, Broughton, Mullally, Johnson.
Salford - Ashurst, Caton-Brown, Chase, Evalds, Fages, D.Griffin, J.Griffin, Hock, Johnson, Lee, Locke, Morley, Puletua, Rapira, Sa'u, Tasi, Tomkins, Walton, Walne.
This could be a real cracker and I see Huddersfield coming out on top so Huddersfield 36 Salford 24.
Sunday features two games and after tonight's breaking news, the standout tie is Hull KR hosting table-topping St Helens.
Hull KR come into the game without a head coach after the sacking of Craig Sandercock earlier tonight and it comes a surprise as they are still in the fight for a top eight place and suffered only a narrow loss to Huddersfield last week.
St Helens returned to the top last week with a win in the derby against Wigan and despite facing a Sandercock-less Robins side will be wary as Hull KR have been a banana skin for them in recent meetings.
Last season, the Robins secured a league double over the Saints with a 22-14 in the home meeting coupled with a win in the corresponding game and also dumped the Saints out of the Challenge Cu with a 26-18 victory. However, this season's reverse meeting saw the Saints end the rout with a 38-18 win.
This could be very interesting given tonight's news but I see St Helens securing a win so Hull KR 18 St Helens 30.
The final game of the weekend sees Catalan make the long trip to face struggling Bradford with the Bulls looking to bounce back from a bad run of form.
Bradford come into the game in wretched form and with their stay in Super League hanging by a thread and in need of a huge improvement after a bad loss to Warrington last week which included a spree of four tries conceded in ten minutes.
Catalan come into the game in good form after a great run at home and also stunned by a last-gasp loss to Leeds via a penalty goal but are in good stead for a place in the top eight and could even trouble the top six if they keep up their home form.
Last season, Catalan edged a 22-23 win over the Bulls and would be happy with a repeat but may prefer a repeat of their win in the reverse meeting that saw them humble the Bulls in a 46-4 win on scorching day in Perpignan.
This could be a close one given Catalan travelling but Bradford are just not in good form so Bradford 16 Catalan 32.
Tonight's game acts as a dress rehearsal for the next month's Challenge Cup semi finals as Widnes host Castleford.
Widnes come into the game off the back of a battling win over London that ended a poor run of form which saw some heavy defeats and with the relief of facing the Tigers at home, there are hopes that they can reduce the gap to the top six.
Castleford come into the game after a last-gasp win over Salford, a win that put them fourth but with three other sides also on 24 points they could be as high as third tonight or as low as sixth come 5pm on Sunday.
Last season's meeting at the Select Security stadium saw the Tigers come away with a narrow 38-42 victory which would make for a superb repeat due to the game being televised on Sky. The prospect of a high scoring game is likely due to the teams combining for 56 points in the reverse meeting with Castleford winning 34-22 at the Jungle.
Widnes include Liam Carberry who is in line for his first appearance of 2014 while Castleford welcome back Michael Channing and Oliver Holmes in place of Frankie Mariano and Jake Webster.
Widnes- Ah Van, Allen, Brown, Cahill, Carberry, Clarke, Dean, Flynn, Galea, Gerrard, Hanbury, Isa, Joseph, Kavanagh, Leuluai, Mellor, Phelps, Tickle, White
Castleford- Dixon, Shenton, Carney, Dorn, Sneyd, Lynch, Milner, Huby, Millington, Hauraki, Massey, Clark, Holmes, Wheeldon, Ellis, Channing, Finn, Jewitt, Carvell.
Form suggests Widnes may struggle so I will go for Castleford so Widnes 22 Castleford 36.
Friday night sees two games with the televised action coming from Wakefield as they play host to Leeds.
Wakefield go into the game on the back two good performances with a win over Wigan followed by a 20 all draw with Hull with the visitors levelling right at the end preventing the Wildcats from three successive wins at home though Leeds will be a tougher test.
Leeds come into the game with a sigh of relief after a last-gasp win over Catalan with Liam Sutcliffe the hero in the final seconds to secure a 32-31 win that gave them a three point gap in second place over the chasing pack.
Last season, Leeds won a tense tie with a 24-31 victory but which is a far cry from this season which saw them win 42-6 in the reverse meeting and also hammered the Wildcats in the Challenge Cup.
Wakefield are without Danny Kirmond and Lucas Walshaw with Max Jowitt and Jimmy Keinhorst while Leeds include Kevin Sinfield with Robbie Ward, Elliot Minchella and Luke Briscoe.
Wakefield- Mathers, Riley, D. Smith, Keinhorst, Sykes, Godinet, Anderson, McShane, Gilmour, Jowitt, Washbrook, Ryan, Owen, Moore, T. Smith, Tautai, Lyne, Scruton, Raleigh.
Leeds- Jones-Bishop, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Leuluai, Aiton, Peacock, Sinfield, S. Ward, Delaney, Bailey, T. Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Singleton, Minchella, Walters, R. Ward, L. Briscoe.
Despite their good form, Wakefield could be humbled her but I will game and saw a close one so Wakefield 24 Leeds 30.
Tommorow night's other game sees Warrington travel to face Hull FC with the visitors looking to continue a stellar winning run.
Hull come into the game on the back of a tense 20 all draw at Wakefield with a Westerman conversion from the touchline securing the division of the points. The Airlie Birds are on the fringes of the top eight and depending on the Widnes result could be a long way off.
Warrington come into the game after a strong win over struggling Bradford and extended their fine winning run to seven and with sit fourth level on points with Wigan, Castleford and Huddersfield so will look to take advantage of playing before two of their rivals.
Last season, Warrington secured a 10-24 win at the KC stadium and would be happy with a repeat rather than the tight win they secured in this seasons reverse meeting that saw them edge a 18-16 win.
Hull retain Jordan Abdull meaning Jacob Miller misses out with Callum Lancaster replacing Tom Lineham while Warrington are missing Simon Grix with Joe Philbin comes into the squad.
Hull -Abdull, Bowden, Ellis, Hadley, Heremaia, Horne, Houghton, Lancaster, Miller, Paea, Paleaaesina, Sa, Shaul, Talanoa, Thompson, Tuson, Watts, Whiting, Yeaman
Warrington -Asotasi, Atkins, C Bridge, Currie, Dwyer, England, R Evans, Harrison, Higham, Hill, King, J Monaghan, O’Brien, Ormsby, Philbin, Ratchford, Riley, Russell, Westwood
This could be great game based on the reverse meeting but I see Warrington sealing a win so Hull 18 Warrington 26.
Saturday afternoon features two games with the most standout tie being Wigan's trip down to face London with the Broncos still searching for their first win of 2014.
Wigan come into the game on the back of defeats to Wakefield and St Helens which saw them go from first to third in the space of a week and depending on other results could be as low as fifth before they kick off.
London go into the game still without a win this season but showing improvement in their performances but suffered a 24-42 loss to Widnes last week. Despite losing all 18 games, they are still not mathematically relegated and a first win coming against Wigan would be the shock of the season so far.
Last season, Wigan humbled London in a 4-64 win and also registered a heavy loss just under a year ago when they demolished the Broncos 70-0 in the last four of the Challenge Cup. However, this season Wigan were one of the sides that London caused trouble for as they led 6-10 at the DW before losing 36-14.
Wigan welcome back Eddy Pettybourne and Tony Clubb from long injuries with young Fullback Lewis Tierney included with Liam Farrell replacing Sean O'Loughlin while London include Ben Farrar, Jordan Atkins, Maxime Herold, Jon Wallace and Joel Wicks with Erjon Dollapi, James Duckworth, James Greenwood, Joe Keyes, James Woodburn-Hall and Mike McMeeken missing out.
London-Jordan Atkins, Matt Cook, James Cunningham, Josh Drinkwater, Ben Farrar, Alex Foster, George Griffin, Max Herold, Olsi Krasniqi, Will Lovell, Iliess Macani, Thomas Minns, Scott Moore, Jamie O'Callaghan, Nick Slyney, Denny Solomona, Atelea Vea, Jon Wallace, Joel Wicks
Wigan-Bateman, Matt Bowen, Joe Burgess, Greg Burke, Josh Charnley, Tony Clubb, Dom Crosby, Gil Dudson, Liam Farrell, Anthony Gelling, Jack Hughes, Jordan James, Eddy Pettybourne, Sam Powell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Scott Taylor, Lewis Tierney, George Williams.
Despite London's recent improvement this could be a bad day for them so London 12 Wigan 48.
Huddersfield host Salford in the day's other game with Giants looking to dent the Red Devils push away from the bottom two.
Huddersfield come into the game on the back of a narrow win over Hull KR which continued their good run of form which includes victories over Wigan and Leeds and with the top six so close together they will hop to take advantage of their rivals.
Salford come into the game after a last-gasp defeat to Castleford and despite being nine points clear of the relegation places are still not mathematically safe so need to bounce back to winning ways.
Last season, Huddersfield eased to a 46-4 win something that they would be glad to repeat while also looking to secure a league double after a 22-42 win in the reverse meeting at the AJ Bell stadium.
Huddersield name an unchanged squad from their round 18 win while Salford include new signing Kevin Locke after his arrival from the NRL just days ago.
Huddersfield- Grix, McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, Brough, Robinson, Crabtree, Kopczak, Ferres, Chan, Bailey, Lawrence, Patrick, Faiumu, Ta'ai, Wood, Broughton, Mullally, Johnson.
Salford - Ashurst, Caton-Brown, Chase, Evalds, Fages, D.Griffin, J.Griffin, Hock, Johnson, Lee, Locke, Morley, Puletua, Rapira, Sa'u, Tasi, Tomkins, Walton, Walne.
This could be a real cracker and I see Huddersfield coming out on top so Huddersfield 36 Salford 24.
Sunday features two games and after tonight's breaking news, the standout tie is Hull KR hosting table-topping St Helens.
Hull KR come into the game without a head coach after the sacking of Craig Sandercock earlier tonight and it comes a surprise as they are still in the fight for a top eight place and suffered only a narrow loss to Huddersfield last week.
St Helens returned to the top last week with a win in the derby against Wigan and despite facing a Sandercock-less Robins side will be wary as Hull KR have been a banana skin for them in recent meetings.
Last season, the Robins secured a league double over the Saints with a 22-14 in the home meeting coupled with a win in the corresponding game and also dumped the Saints out of the Challenge Cu with a 26-18 victory. However, this season's reverse meeting saw the Saints end the rout with a 38-18 win.
This could be very interesting given tonight's news but I see St Helens securing a win so Hull KR 18 St Helens 30.
The final game of the weekend sees Catalan make the long trip to face struggling Bradford with the Bulls looking to bounce back from a bad run of form.
Bradford come into the game in wretched form and with their stay in Super League hanging by a thread and in need of a huge improvement after a bad loss to Warrington last week which included a spree of four tries conceded in ten minutes.
Catalan come into the game in good form after a great run at home and also stunned by a last-gasp loss to Leeds via a penalty goal but are in good stead for a place in the top eight and could even trouble the top six if they keep up their home form.
Last season, Catalan edged a 22-23 win over the Bulls and would be happy with a repeat but may prefer a repeat of their win in the reverse meeting that saw them humble the Bulls in a 46-4 win on scorching day in Perpignan.
This could be a close one given Catalan travelling but Bradford are just not in good form so Bradford 16 Catalan 32.
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