Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors Prediction: 11/8 Warriors to have too much for Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos look to respond to back-to-back defeats when the Betfred Super League champions, Wigan Warriors, come to AMT Headingley, with the visitors themselves stinging after last weekend's unexpected Betfred Challenge Cup exit to Hull FC (kick-off 17:30 GMT, live on Sky Sports Action).

This is a meeting of two giants of the British game, and both teams are without some key players for a game that already feels to have big significance. My Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors predictions follow, with full match odds from Betfred and the latest team news.

Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors Odds

The Rhinos are 2/1 with title sponsors Betfred to end their winless streak against the back-to-back reigning champs, implying a 33.3% chance of a Leeds victory. They have actually come out on top in six of the last 10 meetings between the sides in all competitions.

Wigan, though, are 2/5 to get the job done in 80 minutes with the draw available at 20/1. The regular two-way handicap bracket is sat at 6.5 points in favour of Leeds, with the Rhinos 5/6 to make the most of the start and Wigan 10/11 to overcome the disadvantage.

Team News

The Rhinos this week suffered a setback with their England hooker Andy Ackers ruled out for up to 12 weeks. Ackers tore a hamstring in the first half last weekend as Leeds bowed out of the Challenge Cup with defeat at St Helens.

Also out for Leeds is joint-captain Cameron Smith, who we won't see for the next 10 weeks after he suffered ankle ligament damage at Salford last month. The Rhinos are already without big-name signing Maika Sivo, with the winger having been ruled out for the year before the season had even started.

Better news has seen the return of full-back Lachie Miller, with Jake Connor moving instead into the halves in place of Matt Frawley, who is back this week after concussion protocols.

Prop forward Tom Holroyd returns for this clash after serving his suspension.

Rugby League Odds

Wigan have also suffered a couple of blows, with goal-kicking centre Adam Keighran expected to be out long term. The Australian picked up a knee injury in last week's defeat to Hull FC with boss Matt Peet confirming it is likely to be an absence of several months with an MCL injury.

The Warriors' other concern has been around star full-back Jai Field, one of the standout players of the season so far, who has come up trumps every week for followers of this column in our anytime tryscorer selections.

Field felt tightness in his hamstring and is being monitored, but it is not thought to be a serious issue. He is included in the initial squad, whether he plays is another issue.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 1: Wigan -10 @ 11/8

Wigan have won three of their last four games against Leeds and I expect them to ride the wave of energy at Headingley to come away with the two points here too.

At home the Rhinos are reliant on a big start to get the South Stand involved, but even with that 18th man I just think the Warriors have much more quality at the moment.

Leeds have improved under Brad Arthur but there are still plenty of things to fix up as proved in the recent losses to Catalans Dragons in Super League and the Challenge Cup loss at Saints.

When these two sides met last September Wigan won 38-0. I don't think we will see that at this stage in the season, but the Warriors will have enough to come through with a bit to spare. It's worth noting that this fixture last year actually provided the best win of Leeds' season, with an unexpected and dominant 30-4 win. I still have no idea where that came from.

It will be a special day too for veteran Leeds winger Ryan Hall, who makes his 500th career appearance. You sense he will have to run in a try or two if his side are going to be celebrating with him.

I'm looking at Wigan to bounce back with a win by a couple of scores.

Liam Marshall anytime tryscorer @ 1/1

By Liam Marshall's standards it has been a relatively gentle start to the year for last season's top tryscorer. Living largely in Jai Field's shadow, Marshall's two tries have come in his last two Super League matches, and that usually means the winger is about to go on a scoring run.

The England man has helped himself to a try in each of Wigan's last three games against Leeds, and I fancy him to be amongst it again at AMT Headingley this weekend.

You can read all our latest Rugby League Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights Rugby League content hub.