Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-finals are filled with the usual suspects – well, almost...

Things kick-off at 12.30pm on BBC One, when 2018 Super League Leaders’ Shield winners St Helens take-on the Catalans Dragons at the University of Bolton Stadium. While the Saints may have won the Challenge Cup 12 times – admittedly the last time being in 2008 – the Catalans have only ever appeared in one final, their 2007 losing effort against, incidentally, St Helens marking the one and only time a non-British side has reached that point in the competition.



Entering in the 6th round, St Helens beat the Castleford Tigers 36-18 to progress to the quarter-finals, where they then narrowly got past defending champions Hull 25-22. The Dragons have been around a bit longer, a 34-22 5th round victory against the York City Knights followed by a 56-10 hammering of Whitehaven in the 6th and a 20-6 triumph over the Huddersfield Giants in the quarters.

Given that St Helens have a 50-25-10 Index spread of 33-36 to the Catalans’ 14.5-17.5, and are odds on to win a 13th title at 4/6, the Dragons may struggled to match their 2007 achievement. Spreadex are offering a St Helens/Catalans Dragons Points Supremacy spread of 10-13 alongside a Performance Supremacy spread of 38-47.

The other semi-final sees the Leeds Rhinos take on the Warrington Wolves at 2.45pm on BBC One. The Rhinos, losing semi-finalists in 2017, have the 2nd best record in the Challenge Cup after the Wigan Warriors, with 13 wins from 25 finals. Not that the Wolves are slouches either, with 8 victories total, the most recent being in 2012.

As for the 2018 competition, the Warrington lot entered in the 5th round, opening their campaign with a hefty 54-6 win against the Bradford Bulls. That was followed by another heavy victory against the Toronto Wolfpack, before arguably their most impressive win, a 23-0 brushing aside of Wigan. Leeds, meanwhile, just about got past the Widnes Viking in the 6th round, only to crush the Leigh Centurions with a 52-22 win.

This match looks set to be closer than the first semi-final. Warrington are at an Index spread of 25-28 to Leeds’ 16.5-19.5, with Spreadex offering a Points Supremacy spread of 5-8 alongside a Performance Supremacy spread of 20-29.