Battle for second hots up

While the Castleford Tigers have already secured top spot ahead of the Super 8s, the battle for second is still firmly on in the Betfred Super League (Castleford evens to win the Grand Final).

Daryl Powell’s men are now preparing for the semi-finals after a superb campaign to date, but their rivals are still fighting it out for their final league position.

Super League fans will be forced to wait until Sunday for the pick of the fixtures, with Salford Red Devils hosting Leeds Rhinos at the AJ Bell Stadium (Salford 5/6, draw 20/1, Leeds evens – match odds).

Ian Watson’s men come into the game on the back of a 36-20 win over Huddersfield, while Leeds proved too much for St Helens last Thursday in their 24-22 success.

A win for either side will bridge the two-point gap between the teams, but both Hull FC and Wakefield still have their sights set on the top two.

Wakefield will get this week’s fixtures underway when they take on Castleford at home on Thursday and Chris Chester’s side will be forced to dig deep to get the two points.

The first game on Friday sees Warrington face Leigh at the Halliwell Jones, with Tony Smith’s men desperate for the win after another defeat last weekend.

Huddersfield will look to put the pressure on the Wolves by beating Widnes in another 8.00pm kick-off on Friday.

Finally on Friday, St Helens welcome Hull FC to the Totally Wicked Stadium, with a win for Lee Radford’s men potentially lifting them up to third (Saints 5/6, draw 18/1, Hull evens – match odds).

Saturday’s clash between Catalans and Wigan could see the Warriors ease their relegation fears but Shaun Wane’s men will have to do it the hard way in Perpignan.

Wigan are four points clear of the bottom four, with Catalans occupying the final place heading into the latest round of fixtures.