THE Sharks vs US Oyonnax Prediction & Betting Tips - Challenge Cup

Prediction published on 12/01/2024, 06:30  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 13/01/2024 at 00:00 in Challenge Cup Prediction

With the festive season now in the rearview mirror, the EPCR Challenge Cup will resume on Saturday when the Sharks take on Oyonnax in Durban. The hosts are currently in second place in Pool 1, while the visitors are bottom of the group. The Sharks got the competition started with a very positive showing as they overcame a youthful Pau side 45-5 at this venue. However, they were edged by the Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium 32-29 a week later, and it has been downhill since then. Over the Christmas period, the Durbanites returned to United Rugby Championship action and came up short against the Stormers and Lions, 16-15 and 20-18, respectively. Owing to those results, the hosts are now languishing at the bottom of the URC standings with just one win in nine games. Nevertheless, they will likely look to exploit the humid weather conditions at the Shark tank and will go all-out in this must-win encounter. 

Meanwhile, Oyonnax are facing struggles of their own. The French outfit failed to win either of their first two rounds of matches. They were beaten convincingly by the Dragons in week one, 24-7, before returning home to a 21-14 loss to Zebre. As a result, they now have to get past all teams in the group, as they have only managed one bonus point so far. Unfortunately, it’s been a fairly similar situation in the Top 14, where the visitors currently sit third-bottom in the table with five wins in 12 games. Notably, Oyonnax are the only side in the Top 14 that have failed to earn a single bonus point this season. The visitors are likely to send out a fairly young team for this one, and they will do well to keep up with the Sharks, who are expected to be at full strength on their home patch.