Hull FC vs Bradford Bulls Prediction: Go for 4/1 shot in Round 1 Hull win

Betfred Super League new boys Bradford Bulls are on the road for their first game back in the big time, with a tricky trip to face a Hull FC side who will hope to prove a real force this term after the promising signs of 2025 (17:30 GMT, Sky Sports+)

The glory days of Bullmania will remain vivid for rugby league fans of a certain age, but how will the four-times champions fare on their return to the game's elite? My Hull FC vs Bradford Bulls predictions follow below, along with full team news and Betfred's match odds.

Team News

The Black and Whites could hand debuts to a host of new signings, with Harvie Hill, Joe Batchelor, Sam Lisone, Connor Bailey, Jake Arthur and Arthur Romano all included in John Cartwright's 21-man squad.

There is good news too on the big names who missed the Betfred Challenge Cup win at Salford last week. Will Pryce, Lewis Martin and Liam Knight are all named.

Prolific prop Herman Ese'ese, though, is out as he recovers from the Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season, with fellow forwards John Asiata and James Bell also sidelined.

Jed Cartwright misses out through concussion protocols after failing his Head Injury Assessment at Salford. The likes of Ryan Westerman, Roman Dawson, Logan Moy and Joe Phillips are still recovering from injuries. It is nonetheless a pretty strong Hull FC squad and one that is only going to get stronger with the players mentioned not far off returning.

Bradford should also have several new faces involved, with new signings Andy Ackers from Leeds Rhinos and former Featherstone Rovers full-back Caleb Aekins both named in Kurt Haggerty's first Betfred Super League squad.

Ed Chamberlain is another likely debutant, while there is mixed news on Bradford's three former Salford players. Enforcer Loghan Lewis - nicknamed The Hitman by Red Devils fans who adored him - is set to play. But half-back Jayden Nikorima - a real livewire of a playmaker - is out for the next six weeks, while flying winger Ethan Ryan also picked up an injury in last week's cup win over London.

Hull FC vs Bradford Bulls Odds

Bradford are a healthy 9/1 shot to emulate York Knights' great feat on Thursday by claiming a victory on their return to the top flight. Hull are 1/20 with title sponsors Betfred, implying a 95.2% probability of the hosts taking the two points.

FC are giving up a 20.5-point handicap on the standard two-way market, with their price lengthened to 10/11 in that context. The Bulls are 5/6 to make the most of the extra edge.

Hull FC by 16-20 points @ 4/1

The Bulls are the epitome of an unknown quantity but will be buoyed I'm sure by York's incredible opening win over champions Hull KR that made a mockery of many, including myself who had the Robins down for a hard-fought win.

Hull FC are as long as 1/20 in the outright match betting, and an early handicap of 22 points indicates where the expected dominance lies in this one.

This should, of course, be a home win, let's not beat around the bush. But will it be that much of a gimme? The Black and Whites struggled last year at home, it took them ages to get their first win, and ultimately only four victories came from 13 matches at the MKM Stadium. But anyone who watches the British game each week will tell you that there is a huge amount of promise in this Hull FC set-up which looks primed to continue its upward trajectory.

February and March are the months where you are most likely to see surprises, with awful conditions and new-look squads. Nobody really knows quite how good a pre-season each side has had until the competitive stuff starts. So that makes me more cautious in backing a landslide home win, although I would be staggered to see the Bulls take anything back to Bradford.

This is the first Super League meeting between these two teams in 12 years so there is no real point looking into the form books given the Bulls' 12-year absence from the top flight.

I felt like there was a real weight of expectation that prolonged Hull's long wait for a home win last year, and although their record was wretched, those four wins in 13 actually all came in the last seven games. Another reason for their struggles was discipline - or lack thereof. Only Catalans Dragons received more sin-binnings or red cards in 2025, which became a real problem.

That said, when I look down the squad lists I see far too much in the Black and White shirt to be able to offer Bradford hope.

Sam Lisone Anytime Tryscorer @ 11/4

Of all the new Hull FC recruits, Sam Lisone was the one that caught my eye. Maybe that is my bias as a Leeds fan, but I was gutted to see the big man leave AMT Headingley.

His 15 tries in two seasons at Leeds, for a prop who usually starts on the bench, is some effort, and the form he was in last year was unstoppable.

If he gets some decent minutes in this fixture then this feels like a real value tryscorer bet.

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