The Stats Zone
· Tom

2018 Super League – Salford Red Devils vs Wigan Warriors Preview

Post Share

AT A GLANCE

When? Friday 2nd February, 19:30

Where? AJ Bell Stadium

What channel is it on? Salford Red Devils vs Wigan Warriors will not be televised live

Are tickets still available? https://www.eticketing.co.uk/s...

Where can I stream the match? N/A

THE LOWDOWN

SALFORD RED DEVILS

Head Coach: Ian Watson

Squad: Bibby, Burgess, Evalds, Flanagan, Griffin, Hauraki, Johnson, Jones, Kopczak, Littlejohn, Lui, McCarthy, Mossop, O’Brien, Sa’u, Tasi, Tomkins, Welham, Wood

Unavailable: Ryan Lannon, Manu Vatuvei

  • Salford’s season petered out last year after a solid regular season. They fell away in the Super 8s and will be hoping for more consistency this year.
  • Ian Watson was dealt a huge blow this week when Manu Vatuvei was ruled out for a large portion of the season with an Achilles injury. Ryan Lannon also serves the last of a three-match ban but new signing Jack Littlejohn is in contention to make his club debut.
  • Salford need a quick start to the season to put last year’s poor finish behind them. They lost nine of their last 10 Super League games which may leave Watson under pressure if they cannot turn that form around quickly.

WIGAN WARRIORS

Head Coach: Shaun Wane

Squad: Clubb, Davies, Escaré, Farrell, Flower, Forsyth, Gildart, Hamlin, Isa, Leuluai, Marshall, Nuuausala, Powell, Sarginson, Sutton, Tautai, J. Tomkins, S. Tomkins, Williams

Unavailable: Joe Burgess, John Bateman, Sean O’Loughlin

  • Wigan start their Super League campaign with a trip to Salford before heading out to Australia to face Hull FC in their ground-breaking game. Following a disappointing 2017 in which they finished sixth, Wigan will have higher hopes for this season.
  • Head coach Shaun Wane is without his influential captain Sean O’Loughlin as well as John Bateman and Joe Burgess. New signing Gabe Hamlin is named in the squad alongside Dan Sarginson, who has returned to the club following an unsuccessful spell at the Gold Coast Titans.
  • Wigan face a team they have enjoyed prolonged success over having lost just two of the last 18 encounters between the two sides in all competitions.

KEY STATS

  • Salford Red Devils have lost 9 of their last 10 Super League matches
  • Wigan Warriors have won 16 of the last 18 meetings between the two sides in all competitions
  • There has been a total of 257 points scored in the last 6 meetings between the two sides in all competitions at an average of 42.8 per game
  • There has been a total of 46 tries scored in the last 6 meetings between the two sides in all competitions at an average of 7.7 per game
  • Salford Red Devils have lost by a minimum of 25 points in 4 of their last 5 Super League matches

THE PREDICTION

Both of these sides need good starts to the season to eradicate their poor end to 2017. Salford were stuck in a rut and struggled for form heading into the Super 8s whilst Wigan ended the season by being nilled by Wakefield. With a trip to Australia on the horizon, Wigan would want to get early points on the board and should do that here despite missing some key men.

TSZ Latest