Castleford Tigers vs Wigan Warriors Prediction: Title favourites set for a Field day

Wigan Warriors have put in a big pre-season after relinquishing their Betfred Super League crown to Hull KR in October, and a trip to Castleford Tigers in round one at the OneBore Stadium on Sunday provides a good opportunity to mount a strong response (15:00 GMT, BBC iPlayer and Sky Sports+).

The Tigers had a difficult 2025 and have a new head coach in place in Ryan Carr as they seek a positive start in one of the toughest possible fixtures. Read on for my Castleford Tigers vs Wigan Warriors predictions, the latest team news and full match odds from Betfred.

Team News

There is no Zac Cini for the Tigers, with the centre picking up an untimely hamstring issue in pre-season. There is a similar problem that rules our Semi Valemei while one of Castleford's key men, Louis Senior, is expected to be a longer-term absentee with an ankle injury.

The 21-man squad is actually unchanged from the Betfred Challenge Cup game last week, so there is no Cain Robb or Jack Ashworth, the latter sits out through a suspension incurred at former club Hull FC.

This will be a pretty new-look Cas side. By my reckoning there are 10 new signings in with a shot of playing, so look out for Super League debuts for Brock Greacen, Tom Weaver and Blake Taafe.

Wigan's main team news centres around England half-back Harry Smith. Smith had surgery on a wrist injury over the winter and hasn't played in any of the warm-up games since. He is included in the initial 21-man squad so is not far off a return. Smith's recall is the only change to the squad from last week's 83-0 Betfred Challenge Cup win over Rochdale Hornets, with youngster Taylor Kerr dropping out.

The inclusion of Jack Farrimond would indicate that Smith remains a concern, with Abbas Miski seemingly an ongoing injury worry too.

Giant forward Sam Walters should feature after being rested last week. He was in and out of the team last season but has such promise that I hope this is his breakthrough year in the cherry and white. Also named in the squad are homegrown talent Kian McDermott and new signing Dayon Sambou.

Castleford Tigers vs Wigan Warriors Odds

Cas are a 13/2 chance to get the season off to a perfect start, implying a 13.3% probability. The Warriors can be backed at 1/11, while the draw is 22/1.

The home side are handed a 19.5-point start on the two-way handicap. With that advantage built in, the Tigers become a 10/11 chance with Wigan 5/6.

Handicap 3-way: Wigan -20 @ 21/20

I have read a few experts predicting a difficult season for a Wigan side who failed to win a trophy in 2025. That will indeed be an odd feeling for Matty Peet's men, who have been defending silverware regularly for the past four years.

But I don't buy into any kind of tail-off from Wigan. In fact, I feel they may be really hungry to make amends. All the superstars are still there, the coaching structure is the same and this will be business as usual as the Warriors bid to get back on the horse.

A boggy night down at Wheldon Road may not be the kind of February highlight to get the juices flowing again, but I foresee a professional job done by Wigan this weekend.

There are a lot of issues for Carr to fix at Cas and he will need time to do that.

Wigan have won their last 12 Betfred Super League meetings with the Tigers and I feel confident this will be another. But will they produce an early-season blitz to hit the 20 handicap? I'm not so sure, with the likes of Bevan French and Jai Field traditionally finding their best form when the grounds harden and the sun comes out in a few months.

But at the same time I know Peet would love to make a statement in round one, especially given champions Hull KR's shock loss at York.

So I am going to back Wigan for a sizeable win, whether the conditions are to their liking or not. It might not be the 62-6 win we saw in this game last September though.

Jai Field Anytime Tryscorer @ 4/5

Full-back Jai Field was my go-to selection from very early on last season and proved a very shrewd punt most weeks, as his form just got better and better, and his scoring odds kept narrowing accordingly.

That said, I still like 4/5 on a player who always feels pretty much nailed-on to score. He is one of my favourite players to watch in the Betfred Super League and one of the very best. If Wigan get on a roll in this one then there will be points for Field, and you would have to offer me a very strong argument not to back him.

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