Gloucester vs Sharks Prediction: A first-time encounter between these sides

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host this final encounter between Gloucester and Sharks in the European Challenge Cup. Which team lifts this trophy?

Gloucester

Gloucester eyes their second trophy of the season; in this one, they will hope to give their all. In March, this team defeated Leicester 23-13 in the Premiership Cup and now has a chance to add to their trophy tally. 

The Cherry and Whites shifted their focus to the Challenge Cup after enduring nine consecutive Premiership defeats between late October and early January. They finished the domestic campaign in ninth place, suffering 13 losses in 18 games, including a 90-0 defeat to Northampton a couple of weeks ago.

However, this team remained without a defeat in the European Challenge Cup despite their poor performance in the league. In the group stages, Gloucester were the only team that did not lose a single game, and in the playoffs stages, this team defeated Castres, Ospreys and Benetton. The West Country club now have the opportunity to win their third Challenge Cup title, having previously overcome London Irish in 2006 and Edinburgh in 2015. They were also runners-up in two other finals, losing to Stade Francais in 2017 and Cardiff in 2018.

Sharks

The Sharks will enter this match as the favorites, and a win in this game would mean they will be the first South African side to win this trophy. 

After winning only two of their first nine games in all competitions this season, the Sharks now enter this clash on the back of six victories in their last nine games. In contrast, the scalps they claimed in this competition included Pau, Edinburgh, and the Italian outfit Zebre.

In their semifinal encounter against Clermont, this team had to stage a comeback after a slow start that saw them lose by ten 10-point gap at the end of halftime, which they later won 32-31. 

In their last league game against Cardiff Rugby in the URC, this team suffered a 36-14; however, many of their first-team players were unavailable, with 14 of their 15 lineups not first-team players. 

Expert Betting Tips

Finals are tough to predict, and you can’t just write either team off. The two teams have good chances after a strong and solid performance in this competition, regardless of how things have ended for them in the league. However, while Gloucester have not been exceptional, I expect the Sharks to win. Also, with the hosts pulling 54 points in their last game, I expect a number of good attacking plays from them here, too.