Friday Challenge Cup predictions: Wigan Warriors should grind Salford down

Free rugby league tips, best bets and analysis for the Betfred Challenge Cup sixth-round tie between Wigan Warriors and Salford Red Devils.

Where to watch

Premier Sports 1, 7.35pm Friday

Best bet

Wigan to win by one to 12 points
2pts 19-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Match preview

Wigan Warriors have won the Betfred Challenge Cup on a record 19 occasions and they will be desperate to add their name to the trophy once more after a lean couple of years.

League champions in 2018, the Warriors haven't won the cup since 2013, having been runners-up in 2017 when they were beaten 18-14 by Hull FC.

That's a poor return by Wigan's standards given they won the cup eight years on the bounce between 1988 and 1995, but there have been positive signs for the Cherry & Whites in the opening weeks of the new campaign.

The Warriors have battled to five wins from six under new coach Matt Peet, who has brought about an immediate improvement following last season's disappointing effort.

Wigan finished fourth in 2021 and were dumped out of the cup in the quarter-finals by Hull FC and they face another tricky tie against Super League opposition in this sixth-round contest.

Four of the last six meetings with the Red Devils have gone Wigan's way but they are rarely routine with those victories coming by six, 46, one and ten-point winning margins.

Only two of Wigan's five league wins this season have been by more than ten points but those were in the opening two rounds of the season and things have tightened up for the Warriors since then.

Salford's results have been more of a mixed bag. They've beaten strugglers Castleford, Toulouse and Leeds, but been hammered by Hull FC, Huddersfield and Hull KR so can't be backed with any confidence.

Backing the visitors with a double-digit start on the handicap may be one way to go but better value looks to be a home win by no more than two converted tries, a wager that would have won in each of Wigan's last three victories.

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