Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Prediction: Currie the magic man for the Wire?

Warrington head to Perpignan fresh from back-to-back wins over Leigh Leopards and will look to maintain their fine run at the right end of the Betfred Super League table against a Catalans side who can blow hot and cold. (Kick-off 18:00)

The Wire secured their passage into the Betfred Challenge Cup semis last weekend while Catalans were thumped at St Helens, so can the Dragons bounce back at the Stade Gilbert Brutus?

My Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves predictions follow below.

Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Odds

Catalans Dragons are 11/8 to win this game, with Warrington the 4/6 favourites. A draw can be backed at 14/1.

Team News

Warrington head to France in excellent shape after two key wins over Leigh in the last fortnight. But head coach Sam Burgess has been forced into a few changes. In fact there are five changes to the initial 21-man squad, with a couple of key players injured.

Full-back Cai Taylor-Wray made his return from injury last weekend but picked up a new issue, and that hand injury rules him straight out again. Expect Josh Thewlis therefore to revert from wing to full-back, where he had been excellent in Taylor-Wray's absence.

Josh Smith - our tip in the anytime scorer market last week - broke down injured in the final training session before the game and misses out. He is still sidelined this week, while prop Luke Yates is a third player to have been ruled out through injury. Youngsters Tommy Rhodes and Luke Thomas were named in the 21 last week but did not feature on matchday and drop out this week - the latter having gone on a short-term loan to Oldham in the Championship.

Better news sees the earlier-than-expected return from injury of forward Tof Sipley, who hasn't featured since the Betfred Challenge Cup win over Goole Vikings last month. Jake Thewlis is back from his loan at Castleford, so it will be either Jake or youngster Lachlan Webster on the right wing I would expect, if the other Thewlis brother does indeed go to full-back.

Webster is the third man called up, along with fellow youngsters Ewan Smith and Max Wood, who returns from his loan at Oldham to be replaced there by Thomas.

The Dragons have the luxury of naming an unchanged squad from the party who lost so badly at Saints last weekend.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 1 Warrington Wolves -8 @ 13/8

This is a match up I like and I am expecting bags of points in Perpignan. Catalans are always a different proposition on home turf with the hostile Brutus crowd behind them and that can be a factor this weekend.

That said, I have been at every Warrington game this year and I really like the look of them. Leigh started off the Cup tie last weekend like a train and the old Wire may well have folded, but they hung in there and their quality and extra fitness came through in the end.

I have the Wolves to win a third game in a row this week too, as I just feel they have too much quality for Catalans and look far more robust since the addition of Steve McNamara to the coaching team. McNamara has now been announced as the new head coach of Hull FC for the 2027 season, but will remain with Warrington for the remainder of this campaign.

Warrington have scored a ridiculous 225 points in the league campaign so far - even more impressive given they have only played 6 matches having had a week off when Hull KR were winning the World Club Challenge. So at 37.5 points per game this Wire attack is firing.

Can the Catalans defence step up to the task? I have my doubts. Of the current top 8 teams only St Helens have conceded more than the French side who are shipping over 22 points per game. That is not enough for a consistent winning run and I feel the Wire can have some fun in the French sun.

I'm not expecting anything like a blowout, as the Dragons have it in them to win games like this. But all logic suggests that Warrington will extend a winning run over Catalans to five matches - you have to go back to March 2024 to find the last Dragons win in this fixture.

The handicap is only 4 points which does surprise me a little but will take into account how difficult these trips to Perpignan can be for their rivals and the way Warrington came unstuck in their last away game at Leeds. I'm sticking with my gut feeling on this one though and that is an away win by more than a single score.

Ben Currie anytime tryscorer @ 9/2

With five tries in his last four games, we again backed Josh Smith in the anytime market last week only to see the winger pick up an injury in the final session before the game and miss out.

The tries came from less obvious quarters in hooker Danny Walker and a brace for veteran forward Ben Currie to toast his new deal with the club. Currie is an interesting one as the 31-year-old has either been playing centre, or looking like a centre in the second row. He has an eye for the line too and at 9/2 looks a shrewd selection to cross again this week.

England winger Matty Ashton blanked last week but is the 10/11 most likely scorer this week, while for the Dragons I have had a lot of joy this season backing their exciting Australian full-back Charlie Staines, who is a tempting 6/4 to cross this weekend.

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