Salford Red Devils host Wigan Warriors at the AJ Bell Stadium as they look to build on their emphatic 36-12 away win against Warrington, while Wigan look to make amends for their derby loss on Good Friday.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Salford Red Devils
Salford shocked the league on Good Friday with a comprehensive 24-point win over high-flying Warrington. Prior to the shock win, Salford were on a four game losing streak in the league but regained some confidence after thrashing Rochdale in the Challenge Cup.
Wigan Warriors
Wigan sit 10th in the league on points difference and suffered a humiliating 36-10 loss at home to fierce rivals St Helens. A win against Salford could help get their season back on track and push them up to 8th place.
SQUAD NEWS
Salford Red Devils
Salford have made no changes to the side that beat Warrington convincingly at the Haliwell Jones Stadium.
Salford Red Devils 19-man squad: Evalds, Welham, Sa’u, Bibby, Lui, Wood, Dudson, Jones, Griffin, Flanagan, Lussick, Walker, Burke, McCarthy, Nakubuwai, Murray, Olpherts, Inu, Hastings.
Wigan Warriors
Liam Marshall replaces Tom Davies following his horrific leg break on Friday.
Jake Shorrocks has pulled through his injury and is included in the 19-man squad despite being stretchered off last time out.
Wigan Warriors 19-man squad:ย Bourouh, Bullock, Burgess, Escare, Flower, Gildart, Greenwood, Hankinson, Hardaker, Isa, Leuluai, Marshall, O’Loughlin, Partington, Shorrocks, Smith, Smithies, Tautai, Williams.
HEAD TO HEAD
Wigan have a distinctly strong record when travelling to Salford, having won nine of the last ten meetings at Salford. Wigan have also scored 23+ points in their last four games away at Salford, with their most recent win coming just under a month ago (22-30) at the AJ Bell Stadium.
KEY BATTLE
Jackson Hastings (Salford) v George Williams (Wigan)
Jackson Hastings has been an extremely important part of the Salford outfit over the past two years, providing game-winning plays in both defence and attack. On the other hand, George Williams has being similarly pivotal for Wigan since becoming their mainstay at stand-off. George Williams showed flashes of brilliance against St Helens but couldn’t control the game enough to get his side over the line, while Hastings orchestrated a comprehensive victory against high-flying Warrington last time out.
While they had differing fortunes last Friday and their respective teams are at somewhat polar ends of the Super League table, both Hastings and Williams have the ability to win games almost single-handedly. Hastings and Williams provide one of the most interesting match-ups on Easter Monday and whoever comes out on top should get their side the win.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date:ย Monday 22nd April
Venue:ย AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee:ย Ben Thaler
WHO WILL WIN?
It’s hard to look past Salford considering the ease with which they beat Warrington away from home, however Wigan will be reeling from their comprehensive loss to St Helens at home and should provide a stern test for the home side. Despite that, it should be a reversal of the result in the same fixture earlier this season. Salford by 6.
