Clash of the titans as Saints face Wigan in local derby

Argued by many as the biggest derby in Rugby League, St Helens play host to Wigan Warriors on Friday night with both sides looking to close the gap on leaders Catalans.

The French side moved to the top spot after last week’s huge win at Magic Weekend as they blew Matt Peet’s Warriors away after Tom Johnstone stole the show with an impressive hat-trick.

And with Warrington also dropping points in a surprise loss to Hull FC, the Betfred Super League is completely wide open with the most competitive league table there’s been in a long time.

Whilst Saints and Wigan are also two sides that are almost guaranteed to be in and around the top end of the table, both teams will know they’ve been far from their best across the opening months of the season.

With Wigan third and four-time consecutive champions St Helens sixth, this game is crucial to both sides really kickstarting their push for top spot before they fall away.

St Helens looked back to somewhere near their better form on Sunday as they eased past Ian Watson’s Huddersfield Giants, and the World Champions will take a huge load of confidence from that.

But on the other hand, Wigan fell to another Super League defeat as they were outclassed and skilled by the French side for the second time already this season.

A score-line of 22-46 showed the cherry and whites there’s still a hell of a lot of work to do, something that Matt Peet is always very aware of.

One positive from the Magic Weekend however was the return of Jai Field.

The Australian was ruled out for a number of months but has made a timely return to the starting 13 with him being handed his first start in Newcastle last week.

Whilst it wasn’t the return he would’ve liked, he’s got an opportunity to help his side bounce back in a style that would certainly win back the support of some Wigan fans who were fairly disappointed with their performance last time out.

In terms of team news, St Helens welcome back Morgan Knowles from a two-match suspension which he picked up in the Challenge Cup victory over Barrow Raiders as he replaces Jake Wingfield.

As for the Warriors, they also make one change as Brad Singleton returns from a calf injury and takes his place in the 21-man squad in place of Tom Forber.

Matt Peet also provided injury information on the likes of Mike Cooper who has undergone an operation on a knee injury whilst the cherry and whites still remain without the likes of Kai Pearce-Paul, Willie Isa and Ethan Havard.

Here are the two 21-man squads in full:

⚪ 𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗗 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🔴

Paul Wellens has named his Saints 21-man squad for Friday night's HUGE clash against @WiganWarriorsRL in 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗬!

Read all about it 👇#COYS | #HistoryInTheMaking

— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) June 7, 2023

📋 𝙎𝙌𝙐𝘼𝘿 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎

Matt Peet has made one change to his 21-man squad for Friday's @SuperLeague game against @Saints1890!

🗞 Read more 👉 https://t.co/Y6VOmvUles#WWRL #SLSTHWIG pic.twitter.com/Apge10CSvL

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) June 7, 2023

With history of this derby dating back to 1895, the two sides have created some incredible match ups across a whole century of history, and with so much at stake in the majority of games these two face against each other, this Friday feels no different.

With sales nearing towards a sell-out, it almost promises to be a classic Infront of the Sky Sports cameras.

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