Castleford vs St Helens predictions: Saints to bounce back on their travels
- Castleford have only won two games all season
- St Helens have won four games in a row against Castleford
- Recommended bet: St Helens -13.5
St Helens will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle to face Castleford Tigers in Super League on Friday night.
Paul Wellens' side were thumped 40-20 last weekend by Hull KR, a result that moved the Robins on to 14 points.
That means there are now six teams tied at the top of the table, including St Helens, and they will expect to bounce back immediately.
Castleford secured a 28-28 draw against Leigh away from home last week, but they will need to be at their very best to get a result this weekend on home soil against a side who they have lost to in the pair's last four meetings.
Team news
Castleford's Sam Hall misses out this week after failing a head injury assessment and he is replaced by Sam Eseh, while Fletcher Rooney comes into the 21-man squad instead of Samy Kibula.
Wellens makes two changes to the side that were beaten by the Robins, with Tommy Makinson returning after a case of chicken pox, while Sam Royle also returns to the travelling party.
Morgan Knowles and Matt Whitley drop out, with the latter set to see a specialist due to a shoulder problem, while Knowles is nursing a groin injury.
The stats
Castleford remain in the bottom three after only two wins in their first 10 games, but they have shown signs of improvement under coach Craig Lingard.
The Tigers are unbeaten in their last two games, but seven defeats in 10 means the West Yorkshire outfit are big outsiders for Friday's clash.
Lingard's team have played some expansive rugby, though, as they have registered 101 offloads, the third-most in the division.
Cas centre Innes Senior is currently Super League's second-highest try score with 10 so far in 2024.
St Helens have seven wins from 10 matches this season, while they have won the last four meetings between the two clubs.
Only Warrington Wolves have made more metres than the Saints, suggesting Wellens' team could put the Tigers defence under vast amounts of pressure.
Prediction
The manner of St Helens' defeat to Hull KR was a surprise, but the Robins are one of the in-form teams in the competition, beating Wigan prior to that by a decent margin, so Wellens will not be panicking.
Castleford may be unbeaten in two, but they have only played London Broncos and Leigh Leopards during that time.
St Helens will provide a much sterner test and with Makinson back in the squad, they should have far too much quality for their hosts.
They have won the last four meetings, with the last three of those being by a 18 points or more margin.
Similar could be on the agenda on Friday, with this the part of the season when Saints usually start to really cut loose.
