Hull FC vs Castleford Tigers Predictions: A Senior moment to decide battle at the bottom?

Hull FC host Castleford Tigers at the MKM Stadium on Saturday with the out-of-sorts East Yorkshire club seeking their first Betfred Super League points since a shock home win over champions Wigan Warriors in mid-July (Kick-off 15:00, live on Sky Sports+).

The Tigers are the side immediately above Hull at the wrong end of the table but will firmly fancy extending their seven-point gap over the Black and Whites near the Super League basement. Here are my Hull FC vs Castleford Tigers predictions.

Hull FC vs Castleford Tigers Odds

The Airlie Birds are the slight favourites, due in large part to home advantage, with Betfred pricing them at 5/6 to record a fourth win of the season. The Tigers are 21/20 to take the two points back home to West Yorkshire, implying a 48.8% probability, while you can get 16/1 for the draw in 80 minutes.

Team News

Interim Hull FC boss Simon Grix makes five changes to the squad beaten 22-4 at Wigan last week.

Two key men are back in contention, with full-back Jack Walker having made good progress from a torn bicep he suffered in the awful Magic Weekend defeat by London Broncos and veteran hooker Danny Houghton fit again after a calf injury and in line to make an incredible 450th appearance for the club.

Young on-loan prop Sam Eseh is also brought back into the squad, with the other two changes seeing returns from suspension for prop Ligi Sao and hooker Denive Balmforth.

The men making way are Jed Cartwright with concussion, Ed Chamberlain with a shoulder injury, and youngsters Matty Laidlaw, Lennon Bursell and Will Hutchinson.

Rugby League Odds

Castleford name former Hull FC full-back Tex Hoy in their squad, with three other former Hull stars set for a return to the MKM Stadium, with Liam Watts, Paul McShane and Joe Westerman all included.

Tigers boss Craig Lingard makes three changes, with Muizz Mustapha, George Lawler and Cain Robb all now free from injury or suspension.

The men to drop out are Jacob Miller, Luis Johnson and young Fletcher Rooney.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 3: Castleford -6 @ 11/5

This game between two struggling sides could be an absolute stinker or an unlikely cracker. Hull look to have given up on their season in recent weeks but at least prevented the predicted thrashing by Wigan last week.

Their last home appearance though at the start of August brought a humiliating 46-6 defeat by a St Helens side who have been distinctly average this season, so which Hull FC are we going to see this weekend?

The Tigers will hope it is the latter, and if they can show their July form - which saw Lingard's men win three out of four and beat Catalans, Saints and London - rather than their August form which has yet to yield a single victory, then this could be a good afternoon for the side from The Jungle.

It's a flip of the coin game this for me, and it is a fixture that always has points. Each of the last seven meetings between these two has seen 40 or more points scored, with the home side tending to come out on top.

I fancy an away win though. Hull remain without a permanent coach, and Castleford have one of the shrewdest tacticians around. I don't think there will be much in it but I'm backing Castleford to add more misery to Hull.

Innes Senior anytime tryscorer @ 1/1

If Cas are to get at this flimsy Hull FC defence then big winger Innes Senior could be one of the chief beneficiaries.

Not least because he has now gone six games without a try, having started the season on fire. I fancy he might enjoy this fixture and get back amongst the points.

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