London Broncos vs Catalans Dragons Predictions: Mourgue worth backing in Dragons triumph

Catalans Dragons head to London Broncos for what most expect will be a Sunday afternoon romp as they bid to maintain their push for a top four – or potentially top two – finish in the Betfred Super League (kick-off 15:00 BST, live on Sky Sports Action).

The Broncos have been beating the handicap of late without actually winning any games, so how close can they get to the French powerhouse in the capital? My London Broncos vs Catalans Dragons predictions will take that into account.

London Broncos vs Catalans Dragons Odds

There is no shock in seeing the Broncos priced at 17/2 to record just a second Betfred Super League win of the season, while the Dragons are unbackable in the match winner field at 1/18. London did force golden-point extra-time against Leeds Rhinos recently, and the 80-minute draw coming in again is a 25/1 shot.

Team News

London boss Mike Eccles makes a couple of changes to his side after last week’s 40-16 defeat at Hull Kingston Rovers.

Lewis Bienek was a tryscorer at Craven Park but misses out this week due to concussion protocols. Emmanuel Waine is injured so misses out too, with Jack Hughes and Matt Davies the two men to come in after impressing in the reserves.

Scrum-half James Meadows is still out, meaning Jensen Monk keeps his place, while Alex Walker, Jordan Williams and Bill Leyland are the other absentees.

Rugby League Odds

Catalans welcomed their prodigal son back last week, with Sam Tomkins obliging on our anytime tryscorer bet to mark his return from retirement with a trademark try. Tomkins may well be managed in terms of game-time but is named in the squad again this week.

Tariq Sims and Michael McIlorum are out this week – Sims was sent off in that fiery win over Hull FC last week – but better news sees the return to action of Fouad Yaha and Ben Abdeslem.

Handicap 3-way: Catalans Dragons -24 @ 1/1

I’ve been backing London on the handicap recently and it seems a decent way of finding value in games in which the Broncos are almost certain to be beaten. Last week at Hull KR we went with London on the handicap with a 32-point start at 7/5 and they managed to score three tries in a 24-point defeat to reward our confidence.

This week, though, I feel the handicap looks spot on and I think there will be tries for the Dragons in London.

Catalans have won on their last six trips to play London and this will be number seven. The two most recent Dragons trips to the UK capital have seen victory margins of 34 and 33, which is pretty consistent with how I see this one going too.

I’m going to stick on the three-way handicap though simply because this London side has proved that it has points in it, and so the -24 looks like the pick of the bets at 1/1 at a clear 50% implied probability.

• Arthur Mourgue anytime tryscorer @ 1/1

Livewire Mourgue didn’t cross for a try last week, but with the old dog Sam Tomkins back at full-back Mourgue was on the ball much more in the halves and looked a real threat against Hull FC.

Whether Tomkins plays or not this week, I would anticipate Mourgue being in the heart of the action. And if the predicted points frenzy develops then he looks a very strong pick to score.

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