Catalans Dragons vs Leigh Leopards Prediction: 12/5 Leopards to punish pathetic Dragons

Catalans Dragons have been absolutely shambolic since the departure of head coach Steve McNamara, and they desperately need a positive performance when they welcome Leigh Leopards to the Stade Gilbert Brutus on Saturday in the Betfred Super League (kick-off 18:30 local, 17:30 BST).

Leigh grabbed a dramatic late win at Wakefield Trinity last weekend and know a win of their own would further consolidate their position in the top four. Here are my Catalans Dragons vs Leigh Leopards predictions, along with full team news and Betfred's latest match odds.

Catalans Dragons vs Leigh Leopards Odds

It's fair to say the Dragons are not fancied to turn around the recent form which has seen them score just one try in their last four matches while going down by an aggregate score of 190-6.

Even considering home advantage, they are 19/10 for the win on Saturday, with Leigh an odds-on chance at 4/9. The draw in regular time can be picked up at 18/1.

The handicap markets generally give us our best gauge, and the Dragons are handed a 6.5-point edge in the two-way bracket in return for odds of 10/11. The Leopards are 5/6 to overcome the disadvantage.

Team News

Catalans make four changes to their squad following the dreadful outing at Betfred Challenge Cup winners Hull KR which saw captain Ben Garcia sent off.

Garcia has been banned for four games following that brawl, and that kicks in straight away so he is missing this weekend.

Also out are Reimis Smith, who has a head injury, Tariq Sims - who clearly wasn't fit last week when he limped off with a calf injury, and Theo Fages.

The men brought into the squad by interim boss Joel Tomkins are Paul Seguier, Jordan Dezaria, Fouad Yaha and Clement Martin.

Tomkins names brother Sam in the squad again, even though he didn't play last Friday. He would seem to have a better chance of being involved this week, and boy do they need him.

Arthur Romano will play second row again in the continued absence of Elliot Whitehead.

Rugby League Odds

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam has a near-fully-fit squad to select from, aside from Louis Brogan and Aaron Pene.

Ethan O'Neill is back in the mix in place of Andy Badrock in the only change. Winger Josh Charnley was 18th man last weekend and will be desperate to play against his old mate Tomkins, while Gareth O'Brien is expected to return in the halves.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 3:  Leigh -16 @ 12/5

Catalans are the worst team in Super League right now. And that is saying something when the league includes Salford.

It has been a bizarre fall from grace for the former Challenge Cup winners and Super League Grand Finalists, and one that leaves them languishing in ninth place and cost McNamara his job last month.

The manner of their recent defeats has been woeful. No fight, no desire, no clue. And 312 minutes without scoring a single point before Luke Keary's consolation try in east Hull.

Putting Sam Tomkins back in the team would obviously make a positive difference but I won't be backing the Dragons until I see any sign of a team that wants to play for each other.

Leigh, on the other hand, will have been boosted by snatching that late win at Wakefield Trinity last week and I fancy them to deal with the blistering weekend heat in the south of France and come out on top.

The handicap only has Leigh a couple of scores ahead of the Dragons, which is in keeping with how hard it used to be to win at the Brutus, and the expected sweltering heat.

I have to look past all that, though, and just look at the two teams, and I still don't see the Dragons laying a glove on the Leopards here.

Umyla Hanley anytime tryscorer  @ 6/4

I was a little annoyed with myself last week, as even though we correctly backed the Leigh win at Wakefield, our anytime tryscorer bet on Edwin Ipape missed out.

And what made it worse was that our usual sure-fire bet David Armstong scored twice before half-time.

Leigh will score a few tries in this one, and it is take your pick for me between Armstrong, Umyla Hanley and Josh Charnley - if selected.

Ipape is always a good shout given his odds as a hooker (9/4).

So take your pick. I'm going to go for Hanley to use his pace and power against a beleaguered home backline, with the 6/4 potentially underestimating him at a skinny 40% probability.

Find more Rugby League Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights