NRL Round 20 Preview and Prediction - Wests Tigers v Parramatta Eels @ ANZ Stadium

Wests Tigers  (15th) v Parramatta Eels (7th) @ ANZ Stadium
 
Preview - Parramatta can afford no slip-ups in their finals’ quest as they visit the struggling Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Eels are fresh off a bye, after a gritty victory over the Melbourne Storm missing their Origin players in Round 18 at AAMI Park. The Eels are on the verge of their first finals’ appearance since 2009, sitting in 7th spot with 10 victories, two games clear of the chasing pack outside the finals. The Tigers are playing for nothing more than pride for the rest of the season, with just 4 victories in what has been another turbulent year for the joint venture club. To be fair to Ivan Cleary's men they played well for large portions of their 28-16 defeat by Manly at Lottoland last Sunday. However, once again, when the Tigers had chances to nail a victory, they made some poor errors with the football and lost their way in what was their 13th loss of the season. 
 
History - Earlier this season, these two teams played out a cracker on Easter Monday, with the Eels coming from 22-10 down to win 26-22 at ANZ Stadium. The Eels have now won 3 of their past 4 clashes against the Tigers, and will fancy their chances of making it 4 from 5 here. Overall, the Eels hold the advantage with 19 wins to the Tigers 14, with 1 draw. 
 
Wests Tigers’ Scouting Report - The Tigers have lost young hooker Jacob Liddle to a shoulder injury for the season after he had impressed through patches of this season, with Matt McIlwrick coming back into the starting side. Sauaso Sue is out again through suspension in what has been a disappointing season for him. Chris Lawrence comes back into the starting back row, with both Tim Grant and Michael Chee-Kam added to the bench. 
 
Parramatta Eels’ Scouting Report - The Eels are in good health at the moment, naming a strong side to take on one of their Western Sydney rivals.  Enforcer Manu Ma'u returns from an ankle injury, with Kenny Edwards moving back to the bench. Mitchell Moses will be up for a big game against his old Club, having won 5 from 7 games at Parramatta since his controversial mid-season trade from the Tigers. 
 
Verdict - Parramatta by 10-18
 
Hard to see the Eels slipping up as this is a game they would have circled as a certain win in their quest to make the finals for the first time since 2009. The Tigers tried hard last week, however I think Parramatta will fancy their chances of really dominating this Wests Tigers’ pack which does not have much in terms of size and impact in the starting team or off the bench. I think the Tigers have been playing better in the past couple of weeks so I expect them to be competitive for most of the game. However, Parramatta are building nicely at the moment and, despite this being an away game, will enjoy the lion’s share of support at ANZ Stadium. I expect them to pull away in the final 20 minutes and continue their surge towards the finals.