Wakefield Trinity v Warrington Wolves line-ups predicted with Sam Burgess facing key decision

Wakefield Trinity and Warrington Wolves will go head to head for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon. Daryl Powell’s Wakefield claimed the win back in March, taking advantage of Warrington’s Las Vegas hangover to claim their biggest scalp of the campaign so far.

Both sides have amassed 10 points so far and the winner knows they will leapfrog Hull FC and finish round 11 inside the top six. Wakefield will be on a high after beating Castleford Tigers last time out, while Warrington enter the clash just seven days after booking their spot in the Challenge Cup final.

Their semi-final clash with Leigh Leopards was certainly intense and it will be interesting to see what impact that game has had on them coming into this week, particularly with one eye now on Wembley next month.

Sam Burgess has been forced into changes with Matty Ashton and Josh Thewlis dropping out through injury, but Connor Wrench is fit again and is involved in the squad.

So how will the two sides line up this weekend?

Well, it’s fair to assume Powell won’t be keen to make too many changes. The Trin were mightily impressive last time out and the head coach will be very tempted to stick with a winning team if he is able to.

Lachlan Walmsley scored two tries at St James’ Park and he’ll rightly feel as though he’s done enough to keep his spot over the fit again Matty Russell. The only other question comes in the back row with Seth Nikotemo included and pushing for a spot after injury.

Jack Croft might be the man to make way if Nikotemo is fit enough, with the back-rower dropping to the bench and Cam Scott being the unlucky man to drop out altogether.

Warrington will be without Thewlis and Ashton and that means Arron Lindop and Wrench could be seen on the wings and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Stefan Ratchford keep his spot alongside Marc Sneyd, if Burgess wants to risk the scrum-half again following the facial injury he suffered last month.

Even if he does play, there’s a chance Burgess might want to manage his game time and that might just give Oli Leyland an opportunity off the bench.

Predicted Wakefield Trinity v Warrington Wolves teams

Wakefield Trinity: Max Jowitt; Lachlan Walmsley, Corey Hall, Oliver Pratt, Tom Johnstone; Jake Trueman, Mason Lino; Mike McMeeken, Liam Hood, Caius Faatili; Seth Nikotemo, Josh Griffin, Jay Pitts.

Bench: Mathieu Cozza, Isaiah Vagana, Jack Croft, Harvey Smith

Warrington Wolves: Matt Dufty; Arron Lindop, Rodrick Tai, Toby King, Connor Wrench; Stefan Ratchford, Marc Sneyd; Luke Yates, Sam Powell, Paul Vaughan; Adam Holroyd, Lachlan Fitzgibbon; Ben Currie.

Bench: James Harrison, Jordy Crowther, Joe Philbin, Oli Leyland.