Coral Challenge Cup: Hull KR v Warrington betting preview, tip & TV details

Coral Challenge Cup
Sky Sports Arena, 7.30pm Friday

Warrington have appeared in five of the last ten Coral Challenge Cup finals and the Wolves are 2-7 to move within 80 minutes of another Wembley trip by seeing off Hull KR.

Just last month, Warrington thumped Rovers 54-6 at Craven Park in the Betfred Super League and there will be plenty of punters happy to back Steve Price’s side to overcome a ten-point handicap.

However, Warrington have not been totally convincing since that win. They were forced to recover from a half-time deficit against Huddersfield the following week and have subsequently lost at home to Hull and been forced to hang on desperately against Wigan in the previous round of this competition before scrambling home 26-24.

They’ve also lost full-back Stefan Ratchford, who scored 18 points in the recent win over KR, to a serious shoulder injury.

Rovers eased their relegation fears with a 22-20 Magic Weekend win over Salford at Anfield and also produced a terrific fightback to knock out the Red Devils in the Challenge Cup to earn this crack at Warrington.

While those are the only two games the Robins have won since the Easter annihilation by Warrington, they have been competitive against St Helens, Huddersfield and Leeds, so this may not be a walk in the park for the Wolves.

Rovers boss Tim Sheens is forced to make one change from the side that won at Anfield with captain Joel Tomkins handed a one-match ban for a dangerous tackle.

That disciplinary decision prompted a furious tirade from Rovers owner Neil Hudgell and the hosts could well be fired-up to make a fast start.

KR have scored the first points in three of their last four games and opened the scoring in both their league meetings with the Wolves this year despite going on to lose.

Ben Crooks notched the opening try in both those clashes with Warrington and is 16-1 to make it a remarkable hat-trick. The former Hull and Castleford star is 2-1 to touch down at any time.

However, at the shorter price of 6-4, backing Rovers to bag the opening points by any method looks a better bet.

Recommendation
Hull KR to score first
2pts 6-4 Paddy Power, Betfair

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