Super League: St Helens vs Leigh Leopards tips, predicted score, key stats and verdict
St Helens’ Jack Welsby
The race for the League Leaders Shield continues in the Super League as world champions St Helens welcome Leigh Leopards to the Totally Wicked Stadium.
With just three rounds remaining before the play-offs Saints will be determined to continue their recent winning streak which currently stands at six.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Super League, Friday September 8, Kick-off 20.00, Sky Sports
Predicted score
St Helens 20-12 Leigh Leopards
Key stats
Leigh Leopards have won back-to-back games against St Helens
St Helens have won six matches in a row
Leigh have won three of their last six competitive games
St Helens have conceded 26 points across their last three Super League outings
Suggested bets
St Helens to win by 1-12 point margin
Verdict
With just three rounds remaining, the fight to finish top of the league and claim the League Leaders Shield is going down to the wire.
Catalans Dragons were leading that race for majority of the season however successive defeats have allowed Wigan Warriors and St Helens to close the gap.
As things stand, all three clubs are locked on 34 points meaning one mistake could be the difference between lifting the Shield or dropping into the play-off quarter-final.
World champions St Helens are in the midst of a six-match winning run and head into the weekend with an unmatched level of momentum.
The last team to beat Saints in a competitive fixture were the Leigh Leopards and it’s fair to say that Adrian Lam’s men are capable of causing another upset.
The newly promoted side endured a post-Challenge Cup blip as they suffered successive defeats following their Wembley stadium heroics.
Leigh battled back and against Huddersfield Giants last week and despite having their lights cut off, the Leopards eventually bagged a victory.
Lam’s men have already done something unprecedented having picked up two victories against St Helens this season.
A third tick in the win column against the world champions would certainly rank high on their list of achievements.
However, getting a win away at St Helens is far easier said than done. September is the time of the month when the Merseyside outfit begin to turn up the heat, and who’s to say that’s not happening this season.
Paul Wellens has watched his side concede just 26 points over the last three games, while scoring 94 themselves.
Catalans Dragons and Leeds Rhinos are the only two clubs to have won at the Totally Wicked Stadium this season and considering the level rugby coming from Saints at this moment, we don’t anticipate that number increasing this Friday night.
With that in mind, our recommendation is to back the indomitable hosts to prevail in a narrow contest.
