Betfred Super League: Easter Monday tips, odds & betting preview

Catalans Dragons v Castleford Tigers

TV: Sky Sports Arena, 5pm Monday

All other games 3pm

The stars of the Betfred Super League are bracing themselves for the toughest day of the season as they prepare to tackle the second match of the Easter programme.

Most teams have had less than three days to rest and a combination of tired bodies and baking weather could see points tallies soaring in the six fixtures.

The coolest temperatures are suprisingly set to be in the south of France for the early-evening televised clash between Catalans and Castleford.

Cas won the return fixture in freezing February but the layers make the Dragons 8-13 to take revenge.

Coaches Steve McNamara and Daryl Powell have plenty of injury headaches. The hosts are still missing key men Matty Smith and Michael McIlorum but they have David Mead returning from injury and Brayden Williame is back from a ban.

The Tigers welcome back playmaker Paul McShane from a three-game suspension but Oliver Holmes and Jesse Sene-Lefao have joined the casualty list.

With plenty of imponderables, the best bet may be in the tryscorer markets where backing Lewis Tierney to touch down appeals.

He notched in the loss at Castleford and was on the mark again in last Thursday's rout of London. With Fouad Yaha injured, Tierney is in the prime scoring position of left wing.

The best bet on the card may prove to be Leeds at Wakefield. The Rhinos have had a dismal season and were humiliated by Trinity at Headingley in March but things could be different this time.

The Rhinos moved off the bottom of the table by hammering Huddersfield on Friday and Wakey's injury worries worsened in an agonising loss at Castleford the previous night.

Boss Chris Chester is now without six key men and Leeds can take full advantage.

It may also pay to back Salford to end a ropey recent run of results against Wigan. The Warriors have won on their last four trips to the AJ Bell Stadium but will do well to extend that sequence with a patched-up side battered and bruised from their derby beating by St Helens.

Table-topping Saints and second-placed Warrington are asked to concede hefty handicaps against the Hull clubs and rock-bottom London are the biggest underdogs of the day as they receive a 20-point start for their trip to Huddersfield.

Recommendations
L Tierney to score a try
2pts 6-5 Betfred
Leeds +2
3pts Evs Betfred, Coral, Ladbrokes
Salford
2pts 3-4 Betway

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