Who will make it to the Challenge Cup final at the end of August: Hull, Leeds, Wigan or Salford?

Saturday’s semi-final sees last year’s winners Hull FC take on Leeds Rhinos at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster. The Black & Whites entered in the 6th round and put in a truly masterful performance, blowing away the Catalans Dragons 62-0. Onto the quarters and Hull were drawn against Super League XXII-toppers the Castleford Tigers. Yet Lee Radford’s side battled on through, coming out of the KCOM Stadium with a 32-24 victory.



The Rhinos – who ended the regular Super League season in 2nd, 3 points ahead of Hull – have been in the Cup a tad longer, entering in the 5th round. There they beat Doncaster RLFC 64-28 before moving on to the Barrow Raiders, who they smashed 72-10. Headingley’s finest were just as rampant in the quarter-finals, storming to a 58-0 victory against the Featherstone Rovers.

Both sides have dominated their matches in the Cup so far. Combine that with their near neck-and-neck Super League showing and it’s hard to separate the two, with Spreadex offering a choice Hull FC/Leeds Rhinos Points Supremacy spread of -1.5-1.5 alongside a Total Points spread of 42-45.

Turning to Sunday and Wigan Warriors, the most successful side in the history of the Challenge Cup with 19 wins, face the Salford Red Devils at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington. Despite being favourites for the Cup – they have an Outright Index spread of 29-21, compared to Hull’s 23-25, Leeds’ 22.5-24.5 and Salford’s 17-19 – the Warriors had the worst Super League season of the semi-finalists, finishing in 7th. And while they easily bypassed the Swinton Lions in the 6th round, they barely squeaked through the quarters, beating the Warrington Wolves 27-26.

Like Leeds, Salford have been here since the 5th round, where they just about made it past the Toronto Wolfpack. A relatively low scoring game then saw them knock out Halifax, before holding off Wakefield Trinity for a 30-6 victory in their quarter-final. Though they’re easily the Cup underdogs, the Red Devils will take solace from the fact that they finished the Super League regular season 3 places higher than their opponents.

Nevertheless the Warriors will be after a confidence-boosting win, with Spreadex offering a Wigan/Salford Points Supremacy spread of 7-10.