Leeds Rhinos vs Huddersfield Giants Prediction: Back the bottom club to keep it close

Leeds Rhinos are aiming to win two matches in a row for just the second time this season and will have a perfect chance to do so when the struggling Huddersfield Giants come to AMT Headingley on Good Friday (kick-off 17:30 BST, live on Sky Sports+ red button).

The Rhinos hammered sorry Salford Red Devils away from home last week and now go up against one of the worst teams in the Betfred Super League. My Leeds Rhinos vs Huddersfield Giants predictions won't hold too many surprises. They are below, along with full team news and Betfred's match odds.

Leeds Rhinos vs Huddersfield Giants Odds

Leeds have to be about as short a price to win a Betfred Super League match as they have been since their dominant spell of success between 2007 and 2015. The Rhinos are 1/25 to get the better of the basement boys, making the handicap market the best place to find a pro-Leeds punt.

The regular two-way handicap hands Huddersfield a whopping 24.5-point start, with the Rhinos odds-on to overcome that hefty disadvantage at 10/11. In that same scenario the Giants are 5/6.

Huddersfield are 10/1 for the win, while the draw is a 25/1 shout, but Leeds' 1/25 makes them an implied 96.2% chance for victory so most of the bets will probably come with a big start for the Giants attached to them.

Team News

The headline team news is the inclusion of Kallum Watkins for the first time since returning to Leeds after the former Rhinos captain's move home from Salford.

Watkins' addition is the one change to the Leeds side who won so comfortably at Salford last Thursday night. He will make his Leeds return 17 years to the day after his club debut, and is set to start on the bench and be used in the forwards when he comes on.

Dropping out of the squad is prop Mikolaj Oledzki, who serves a one-match ban for his sin-binning against the Red Devils.

Huddersfield are without prop Fenton Rogers, who has an ankle injury. On-loan Hull KR hooker Bill Leyland is also missing with concussion but Oliver Wilson is back after suspension and Leo Ward is also included.

Rugby League Odds

Handicap 3-way Alternative 1: Huddersfield +20 @ 6/4

I fear this Giants team will be way out of its depth in Leeds, and given the ease with which the Rhinos won on the road at Salford last week I would anticipate more of the same here.

That said, in looking for value I have found myself perhaps bravely taking the Giants on the handicap to keep it relatively respectable. Make no mistake, Leeds will win this game, but I am still to be convinced just how good this Rhinos side is. They were up against absolutely nothing last week - with all due respect to Salford's reserves - and should not have too much problem in beating Huddersfield in similar fashion.

But the Giants have - in glimpses - shown they are better than their results and lowly league standing suggest, if only they could hold on to an early lead.

A West Yorkshire derby at Leeds should trigger some kind of response from under-pressure Luke Robinson's men, but whether they can keep it under 20 points as I am predicting remains to be seen.

Huddersfield actually won at Headingley last season, 30-24, but the less said about the previous visit the better, given it ended 54-0. They have an implied 40% chance of keeping Leeds within 20 points based on the 6/4 odds.

Kallum Watkins anytime tryscorer @ 9/4

This is nothing more than a romantic bet for Watkins to mark his homecoming with a try. His renaissance in the twilight of his career has been great to watch and he should get decent minutes off the bench here.

Even when used in the back row he will line up pretty close to his familiar position at centre, and given the strength of drive that Watkins still possesses, he is a good value bet at 9/4 to cross for a try at an implied probability of 30.8%.

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