Team Talk: Wigan Warriors

It's the old enemy on Friday night as Warrington bid to put their cup semi-final loss behind them and return to winning ways in the Super League.

Wire will be without Ben Murdoch-Masila, who will miss this and the Leeds game with an injury, and there is no place in the 21-man-squad for Danny Walker either. Wigan, meanwhile, are missing plenty - Oliver Gildart, Joe Burgess, Liam Marshall, Tony Clubb, George Burgess, Ben Flower, Liam Byrne, Mitch Clark or Ethan Havard. Dangermen Bevan French, Jackson Hastings and Zak Hardaker are all included, though. Here is my team...

Full-Back - 26 Matty Ashton
Perhaps a controversial inclusion here, but despite his shocker against Salford, I think Ashton should stay at 1. It's clear that this is Price's long-term plan, and we shouldn't abandon it because of one bad game.

Winger - 22 Jake Mamo
Tom Lineham's ban continues into its fifth match, and so Jake Mamo will carry on out wide.

Centre - 4 Toby King
King has been one of the team's most consistent performers in 2020 and if he can finish the season well, could make the Dream Team.

Centre - 3 Anthony Gelling
Wire will need better from Gelling than they got at the weekend from the Cook Islander, facing his former club. He can be very dangerous near the line and this could be a main route to the points.

Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Another facing his former employers is Josh Charnley, one of the most automatic picks in the Wire team.

Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
Austin is still looking for that top-class performance against Wigan... could it come this time around?

Scrum-Half - 7 Gareth Widdop
This will be Widdop's first taste of the Wire/Wigan rivalry and it will be interesting to see what kind of influence he has on Wire's organisation and shape in attack.

Prop - 8 Chris Hill
One of the few who stood up and was counted on Saturday, the co-captain will be looking to repeat that performance against a depleted Wigan forward pack.

Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
There have been a few signs that Clark is starting to hit form right at the business end of the season, which is very exciting.

Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Hasn't been quite as influential in recent matches but is still one of the best props in the league. Wire's player of 2020 so far.

Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Currie was targeted by Wigan for 2021 but it looks like he will be staying put. Can he show them what they missed out on?

Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
Another ex-Wiganer, Hughes is guaranteed of a place in the second row with the unavailability of Ben Murdoch-Masila.

Loose Forward - 1 Stefan Ratchford
As mentioned earlier, I would continue with the Ratchford at 13 system. It's definitely what Price wants long-term.

Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
It's been a while since Clark started, and I expect he'll continue on the bench for this one.

Interchange - 15 Joe Philbin
Philbin has spoken this week about loving these big rivalry matches, so expect plenty of desire in his performances.

Interchange - 18 Matt Davis
I think we missed Davis at the weekend. I hope he's back in for this one.

Interchange - 27 Ellis Robson
Probably between Robson and Johnson for the last interchange spot.

It's a really big game whenever Warrington take on Wigan, but as both teams chase playoff spots, there is plenty on this one. Wire should have enough here, with the Warriors missing quite a few, particularly in their forwards pack. Two points here against Adrian Lam's team would be a huge step towards the playoffs and a top 2 finish.

Predictions
Salford to beat Huddersfield by 1-5
Leeds to beat Castleford by 23-29
Warrington to beat Wigan by 6-11
St Helens to beat Wakefield by 23-29
Catalans to beat Hull KR by 12-17

@ALooseWire