Salford Red Devils vs Leigh Leopards Prediction: Hosts like a Lam to the slaughter
Crisis club Salford Red Devils' latest bid for a Betfred Super League win comes at home to local rivals Leigh Leopards in a game that, once again, their opponents are overwhelming favourites to win.
Leigh may not yet have hit top gear under head coach Adrian Lam this year, but with Salford's main weekly goals currently being just to field a full squad, the visitors should have few problems heading home from the Salford Community Stadium with the two points on Saturday (17:30, Sky Sports+). Below are my Salford Red Devils vs Leigh Leopards predictions, alongside team news and match odds.
Salford Red Devils vs Leigh Leopards Betting Tips
*odds correct at time of publication
Salford Red Devils vs Leigh Leopards Odds
Salford are 15/2, or an 11.8% chance, to claim victory on Saturday, with Leigh 1/14, and the draw 25/1.
Team News
Salford head coach Paul Rowley names just a 19-man squad this week as he continues to be without a raft of his star men due to salary cap restrictions amidst the club's ongoing financial uncertainty.
The good news, at least, is that the remaining Salford players were paid promptly this week, and this is actually one of the more stable squad selections of the season so far.
Matty Foster is the only man to drop out from last week's defeat at Catalans. Into the squad come forwards Sam Davis and Toby Warren. The Red Devils continue to rely on loan players to fill their squad, with Jake Thewlis, Jonny Vaughan, Harvey Makin, George Hill and Tiaki Chan all set to play. Vaughan and Chan were the try scorers in last week's 38-10 defeat in the south of France.
Leigh have new signing Joe Ofahengaue named in their squad despite the player only arriving at the club on Friday. A key blow is the suspension that rules out their try-scoring hooker Edwin Ipape which is a big boost for Salford.
Another key man to miss out is livewire full-back David Armstrong through injury, while Alec Tuitaveke is the third player to drop out. Into the squad, along with Ofahengaue, are Louis Brogan and Nathan Wilde.
Handicap 3-way Alternative 1 - Leigh -24 @ 6/4
It is a painful time to be a Salford fan, with the huge financial dark clouds creating a really pessimistic feel around the place. The players keep showing up and fighting, and if all things were equal, I would probably be tipping a home derby win in this column.
But right now, you just can't back Salford, with key men Marc Sneyd, Kallum Watkins, Nene Macdonald and Tim Lafai gone, other stars absent such as Chris Atkin and Deon Cross, and a conveyor belt of visiting teams hungry to feed on the Red Devils' carcass.
Are there any positives for Salford this week? The relatively unchanged squad is undoubtedly one, and being paid on time should have had a positive mental impact. But stable squad or not, it is still decimated and ill-equipped to compete with the best teams at this level.
The absence of Armstrong and Ipape is good news for the hosts, too, but they can't win this game. Once again, it is a question of how close they can keep it.
In the last home game against Leeds a couple of weeks ago, Salford's second string had a really good go and kept it tight for a long while before falling away to lose 28-0.
My instinct is that a similar thing to happen here. The backs-to-the-wall feel around the place is something that boss Rowley thrives on, and I can see Salford coming out firing but being unable to sustain it.
There is no point looking at the recent history of results, as this is a completely unique situation. But I feel a 20-point Leigh win is realistic, and I am going to push the boat out a little further for the extra value on offer on the handicap.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Anytime Tryscorer - Lachlan Lam @ 7/4
My main men in the try scorer market this season have been Ipape and Armstrong, with followers of this column doing pretty well out of those selections.
With both missing in this one, we have to look elsewhere, and it is playmaker Lam who looks to me to be finding his best form.
Most Leigh tries will have a Lam hand in them, but he is just as adept at finishing them off too, and so the 7/4 on offer in what is likely to be a scoring frenzy is the most appealing to me this week.
Lam was at his brilliant best against Warrington last week without scoring a try, and with Salford likely to tire in this one, there should be chances to back up play and help himself to points.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
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