London Broncos vs Leeds Rhinos Predictions: Broncos can run Rhinos close

Leeds need a win in the capital to maintain any hopes of edging past Leigh, Catalans or St Helens to claim a place in the top six, while London know they can send Hull FC bottom if they pull off a fourth win of the campaign. (Kick-off 15:00)

The Rhinos have improved under Brad Arthur but remain woefully inconsistent which will give the Broncos hope of pulling off another memorable scalp here. Below you can find my London Broncos v Leeds Rhinos predictions. 

Team news

London have been pretty consistent in team selection this week and head coach Mike Eccles makes just one change to the squad beaten last weekend by Leigh Leopards.

Dan Hoyes comes back into the mix, and he takes the place of youngster Harry Stevens who was named in the first-team squad for the first time last weekend with hooker Dean Parata sidelined after suffering a head injury at Magic Weekend.

London Broncos vs Leeds Rhinos Odds

Also still out are half-back James Meadows and full-back Alex Walker along with Jordan Williams, Bill Leyland, Matt Davies and Jack Hughes.

Leeds keep an unchanged 21 from last weekend's home win over Catalans, with Jack Sinfield, Riley Lumb, Ben Littlewood and Mickael Goudemand the men left out of the matchday squad against the Dragons.

That means Mikolaj Oledzki remains sidelined with a rib injury that has seen him miss the last four games, with Ash Handley, Tom Holroyd, Morgan Gannon and Max Sinmpson all out for the season.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 2: London Broncos 16 @ 13/10

I normally go with London on the handicap to find that bit of value and that is exactly what I am going to do again here.

Last week we veered a little bit and backed Leigh by 22 points or more, and of course the Leopards prevailed by 20 in a 32-12 away win.

Leeds have definitely improved since Brad Arthur's future was confirmed as head coach and I don't feel like there is any real danger of them losing this game. But I do fancy London to keep it close - perhaps closer than the handicap, and have therefore backed the Broncos with a 16-point start.

That could be wiped out pretty swiftly if Leeds hit a purple patch early on but I just fancy the Rhinos may not have things all their own way. It is five years since Leeds played at London so there is no real form guide as such since that 36-10 win, and more pertinent perhaps is the thrilling golden point 17-16 win for the Rhinos at Headingley in July - a match that London absolutely should have won.

So London on the handicap is my call this week in a match that is must-win for Leeds.

Matt Frawley Anytime Tryscorer @ 5/2

Half-back Matt Frawley was one of the players singled out for criticism from disgruntled Leeds fans during a poor start to the campaign that cost Rohan Smith his job. 

And while Leeds have improved slightly under Brad Arthur, Frawley's upturn in form has been noticeable, with the scrum-half one of three try scorers in the win over Catalans last week. He also scored earlier in the month at Salford and is the more likely to cross of the Rhinos halves. 

With there being little value out wide this week, I'm looking at the support play of Frawley and Lachie Miller to break open the game for Leeds. 

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