Preview: Bradford Bulls vs St Helens - Prediction, team news and lineups

Saturday night sees the return of a classic Super League fixture as Bradford Bulls entertain St Helens at Odsal Stadium in what should be a tasty encounter.

The Bulls slumped to their 10th defeat of the season last week, while Saints snapped their three-match losing run with a victory over the Huddersfield Giants. 

Match preview

With 10 points from 15 games to their name, it is fair to say that the Bradford Bulls are still finding their feet following promotion to the Super League.

Interestingly, Bradford have picked up all of their 10 points in home games this season, with the team boasting the eighth best home record in the competition.

The Bulls last tasted victory at the start of June, when they romped to a 30-20 victory over Super League newbies York Knights.

Since then, head coach Kurt Haggerty has overseen a couple of tough defeats - a 38-12 home loss to the Leigh Leopards and a 34-24 loss away in Perpignan against the Catalans Dragons.

Bradford now switch their attention to St Helens, though if they are to snap their two-match losing run, the Bulls will have to pull off their first victory over the Saints since 2012.

© Imago / News Images

The last few weeks have been turbulent for St Helens due to a string of poor performances, underwhelming results and a personnel crisis. 

Paul Rowley’s men got a reprieve last week as they took on bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield Giants and came out with a 38-6 victory despite not firing on all cylinders.

This Saturday offers Saints the chance to win back-to-back Super League games for the first time since early May, and they could certainly do with the result given how tight the race for playoff rugby is becoming.

Currently sitting in sixth spot, St Helens have a four point lead over the Leigh Leopards and Catalans Dragons, though that gap could narrow if Rowley’s men fail to string together a series of wins.

Locked on the same number of points as Wakefield Trinity, Wigan Warriors and Hull KR, Saints are also under pressure to keep pace with their playoff rivals. 

Bradford Bulls Super League form:

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St Helens Super League form:

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Team News

© Imago

There is just one change to note for the Bradford Bulls, who bring loanee Leon Ruan into the 21-man squad. 

The man to make way for Ruan is Mitch Souter, who will have to watch on from the sidelines.

When it comes to St Helens, the team has been hit with bad news this week after it was confirmed that Matt Whitley will be out for the rest of the season.

Mark Percival, Daryl Clark and George Whitby also drop out of the squad in a big blow for the Saints.

The quartet will be replaced by Jake Burns, Jacob Douglas, Alfie Sinclair and Billy Keeley.

Bradford Bulls 21-man squad:
Ackers, Aekins, Armitage, Atkin, Blake, Dean, Doro, Gardiner, Hooley, Mellor, Nikorima, Ormondroyd, Peposhi, Ruan, Russell, Ryan, Scurr, Steinwede, Sutton, Wynne

St Helens 21-man squad:
Welsby, Robertson, Sailor, Walmsley, Sironen, Wright, Klemmer, Host, Delaney, Burns, Shorrocks, Dagnall, Macdonald, Douglas, Davies, Sinclair, Humphreys, Hastings, Suluka-Fifita, Keeley, Swarbrick

We say: Bradford Bulls 18-16 St Helens

Bradford simply cannot be underestimated on home turf, given the Bulls have already delivered some terrific performances at Odsal Stadium this season.  

St Helens are in the midst of a crisis, and their recent additions to the injury list are not going to help their chances. With that in mind, I’m backing the hosts to earn a famous win.