Leigh Leopards vs Castleford Tigers Prediction: Hefty home win as Cas’ struggles continue

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New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get £30 in Sports Free Bets & £20 in Bet Builder Free Bets within 24 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. T&Cs Apply.

Leigh Leopards vs Castleford Tigers Odds

Leigh Leopards are 1/40 to win, with Castleford Tigers 12/1, or a 7.7% chance, to triumph, with the draw priced at 33/1.

Team News

Leigh boss Adrian Lam was able to name an unchanged squad for last week's trip to Merseyside but has to tinker this week because of injuries.

Centre Tesi Niu might not play again this season after his injury and obviously drops out - he scored the first try of the game last weekend, while the pack will be depleted too. Joe Ofahengaue is ruled out and so too is Jacob Alick-Wiencke.

The men to come into the forward line are Jack Hughes after suspension and new boy Lazarus Vaalepu who arrived in the country earlier in the week and is set for a debut.

After their horror show at the Hill Dickinson Stadium it does not get any easier for Cas. The Tigers are without Darnell McIntosh - who was only returning from injury last week - along with Brock Greacen, Joe Westerman, George Hirst and Tyler Dupree.

Better news sees the return of Jack Ashworth, Jenson Windley and Jordan Lane.

Handicap 3-way: Leigh Leopards -26  @ 21/20

These two sides are in very different form and it seems impossible to predict anything other than a hefty home win. Indeed the handicap is a walloping 26 points for the Leopards to overcome.

It may be seventh versus ninth in the table but there is a hefty eight-point gap between the two.

Leigh were excellent against an under-strength Warrington at Magic, while Cas were simply blown away by their close rivals Wakefield, conceding nine tries along the way.

The Leopards do have more injuries this week which can level the playing field a little bit, but it is hardly as if Cas aren't struggling in that respect too. All the Tigers' hopes seem to be pinned on winger Jason Qareqare who is scoring every game, but that is nowhere near enough to fix the issues at the other end.

That Qareqare try in the 79th minute of that 48-6 defeat did at least see our anytime double land, with the Qareqare and Tom Johnstone to both score pick landing for our followers at a fantastic 11/4.

With that left edge of Qareqare and Krystian Mapaplangi there is always hope for Cas, but I can't back them staying close in this one with any confidence.

The game at the Jungle last month brought a 24-14 win for Leigh which gives hope to those backing the Tigers to stay within the handicap. I just feel like Leigh are clicking though and could enjoy this fixture very much.

Leigh sit just two points now outside the playoff spots and they will soon be in the top six I feel, as they hunt down St Helens.