Salford Red Devils v Warrington Wolves: betting preview, TV channel & free tips

Salford Red Devils v Warrington Wolves
TV: Sky Sports Arena, 7.45pm

Five days on from stunning St Helens to lift the Coral Challenge Cup against the odds, Warrington are back in Betfred Super League action as they attempt to keep their Grand Final bid on track.

The champagne celebrations have barely finished so it’s no surprise that punters have been supporting Salford all week. The Red Devils are now 4-6, having been slight underdogs when the market opened.

There is plenty of historical evidence to back up the plunge on Ian Watson’s side. The last six Wembley winners have all gone on to lose their next league game although the last cup victors to back up successfully were Warrington in 2012 when they hammered Huddersfield 54-6 having defeated Leeds at Wembley.

The Wolves are 4-1 to double up by winning at Old Trafford in October and coach Steve Price was quick to point out in the post-match press conference that his side were now setting their sights on “the big one”. He’s likely to field around a dozen of his Wembley heroes.

Captain Chris Hill, Mike Cooper, Toby King and Dec Patton have all been rested with on-loan half-back Matty Smith returning to the team having been ineligible for the final. Star man Blake Austin remains sidelined through injury.

The Wolves cannot afford to suffer a Wembley hangover. After a dismal run of five consecutive league losses, they’re far from certain to make the end-of-season playoffs. Another defeat could see them slip to as low as fifth in the table by the end of the weekend.

Salford, who occupy the last of the playoff spots, are enjoying their best run of the season having won five on the trot, posting 196 points in the process.

That run started in mid-July with a 22-12 win at Warrington, a repeat of the superb 36-12 victory at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Easter Monday.

On both occasions, the Red Devils started as 14-point underdogs but on Thursday night they go off four-point favourites.

Man of Steel favourite Jackson Hastings continues to be the star of the Salford show and is 9-2 jolly to be man of the match. Wolves hooker Daryl Clark is 9-1 to pick up the individual honours as he did at Wembley.

There’s plenty for punters to ponder and it may be worth wagering in the tryscorer markets.

In the two pre-Wembley games, Wigan and St Helens both enjoyed success attacking Warrington’s left flank which makes backing Salford right-winger Ken Sio to touch down at 6-5 an interesting proposition.

The former Hull KR star has notched ten times in 14 Super League appearances this year.

Recommendation
K Sio to score a try
2pts 6-5 Betfred, Hills

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