Wigan Warriors favourites against St Helens, claim John Kear and Andrew Henderson

Wigan Warriors will go up against St Helens in the Challenge Cup semi-finals on Saturday afternoon.

The game will be broadcast live on BBC 1 from 2pm with kick-off at 2.30pm at Elland Road, but former Bradford Bulls coach John Kear and ex-Warrington Wolves assistant Andrew Henderson believe Wigan will be able to get one over on Saints.

That’s because of the disruption in the St Helens camp as well as Kristian Woolf’s men coming up against the best attacking side in Super League.

“St Helens’ defence is unbelievable, they just don’t concede points,” said Kear on BBC 5 Live.

“But to counter that you’ve got the best attacking team at the moment on the back of [Jai] Field and [Bevan] French.

“There’s a fascinating conundrum that comes from that.”

Henderson added: “You might actually see (St Helens coach) Kristian Woolf has to adapt his game plan based on the personnel he has at his disposal.

“Wigan are building, they’re growing, they’re getting better and better, they’re going along really nicely.

“Knowing Saints I think they will really rise to this challenge, but I just don’t know if they’ll have enough to cross the line in this one.

“But it’s going to be awesome.”

Henderson went on to state that injuries could hamper Woolf’s men.

“Having Hopoate out as well, all of a sudden they’ve got to find someone else to play at full-back. Who’s going to partner Welsby in the halves? That’s going to effect their dynamics,” Henderson continued.

“Saints will still be prepared, they will still come out and deliver a performance because they set their standards so high, but it’s got to have an impact on their combinations and fluency.”