Leigh Leopards vs Wakefield Trinity Prediction: Hanley to inspire Leigh to beat the handicap

Leigh Leopards look to bounce back from their first Betfred Super League defeat of the season with a home clash on Friday against promoted Wakefield Trinity, who themselves are showing promising signs for a successful 2025 heading to Leigh Sports Village (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Leigh head into the weekend as the closest challengers to leaders Hull KR despite last weekend's 30-0 humbling at Rovers, and will be firmly fancied to score a home win against Daryl Powell's Trinity.  Here are my Leigh Leopards vs Wakefield Trinity predictions, together with team news and match odds from Betfred.

Leigh Leopards vs Wakefield Trinity Odds

There's a clear favourite for the oddsmakers ahead of Friday's game, with the Leopards priced at 2/11 and an implied probability of 84.6%. Wakey can be picked up at 4/1, while the draw in 80 minutes is a 22/1 chance.

The value on a Leigh win may well be best found in the handicap markets, with the regular two-way start allowing Wakefield 13.5 points on their hosts. In that scenario, the visitors are 20/21, with Leigh 4/5 to overcome the disadvantage.

Team News

This week brings positive injury news for Leigh as boss Adrian Lam welcomes back three key players to his squad. Winger Josh Charnley, the Leopards' top tryscorer last season, is named in the squad for the first time since hobbling off at half-time against Wigan Warriors in their thrilling opening-round win.

Forwards Robbie Mulhern and Frankie Halton are also named in the squad, with AJ Towse, Andrew Badrock and Nathan Wilde dropping out. If Mulhern is fit to play, it will be his 250th career appearance.

Wakefield have had a fair few injury issues, with key man Max Jowitt still out, and boss Powell makes just one change to the side narrowly beaten by Hull FC last weekend.

Forward Isaiah Vagana returns after a shoulder injury, with Corey Hall dropping out of the squad.

Matty Storton is still out with a knee injury.

Rugby League Odds

Handicap 3-way: Leigh -14 @ 1/1

Both of these sides lost last weekend and will be eager to get straight back on the front foot. I expect a big response from the Leopards, who were way off it on the road at Hull KR. Leigh won't be the last team to be nilled by Rovers this year given the pride in defence being taken by Willie Peters in east Hull, but it is the second match out of five Super League games so far in which Leigh have failed to score a point.

Leigh may be second in the table, but they are in fact the second lowest scorers in the top seven teams, with 81 points at an average of 16.2 per game. Now, I don't feel 16 points will win many games now the weather is improving and teams start to throw the ball around a little more.

So this feels like a good game for the Leopards to show what they can do, against a dangerous opponent who will also have a go.

Leigh beat Wakefield 20-19 on golden point in this game two years ago - the last meeting between the two sides. Their home record against Trinity is good, with Wakefield last winning in Leigh in 2017.

I have this as a home win, and feel that Leigh will respond to the disappointment of last week. But I don't expect them to have it all their own way, and am somewhat nervously sticking on the handicap, with a belief that Wakefield may actually keep it closer than that.

Umyla Hanley anytime tryscorer @ 7/4

I'm loathe to move away from the David Armstrong anytime tryscorer bet which is paying off every week, but the form of the full-back is such that his odds are shortening each week.

I would absolutely expect another Armstrong try this week despite his, and Leigh's, blank at Hull KR last weekend, and he is available at 1/1 to cross in 80 minutes.

Leigh should score some points in this one, and their other main strike weapon is Umyla Hanley at a more tempting 7/4, with an implied probability of 36.4%.

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