Vikings v City Reds: Teams
Widnes and Salford will both be looking to register their first points when they do battle at the Stobart Stadium on Sunday.
Last Updated: 18/02/12 12:00pm
Widnes and Salford will both be looking to register their first points of 2012 when they do battle at the Stobart Stadium on Sunday.
The struggling sides have both suffered two defeats at the start of the new Super League campaign - London Broncos are the only other top-flight club yet to get off the mark.
The Vikings were beaten at home by Wakefield on opening night before going down 66-6 to Huddersfield Giants last Sunday. Their points difference of -78 means they currently prop up the rest in the table.
Coach Denis Betts' cause has not been helped by the suspension of three members of his first-team squad for a breach of club discipline.
Former St Helens hooker Scott Moore and back-row forwards Hep Cahill and Simon Finnigan have all been dropped for this weekend, though the club have not divulged any details of the breach.
There is some better news for the hosts with the returns of stand-off Anthony Watts, who is set to make his Super League debut, and captain Jon Clarke.
Moon missing
Salford make the trip to Widnes without Joel Moon; the centre suffering a broken bone in his hand in the defeat to St Helens that could rule him out for as long as two months.
However coach Phil Veivers is able to welcome back Sean Gleeson as a straight replacement for Moon in the back line.
Second rower Vinnie Anderson returns after missing the game against Saints through illness, while prop forwards Jordan James and Iaeta Paleaaesina are
expected back from injury.
The City Reds led 10-4 at Langtree Park last time out but were eventually well beaten, conceding 34 unanwered points after the break.
The contest this weekend will also be the second to be played on the revolutionary 'iPitch' at the Stobart Stadium, with the surface coming in for some criticism after the game against the Wildcats.
Widnes squad: Ah Van, Allen, Clarke, Craven, Cross, Davies, Flynn, Haggerty, Hanbury, Isa, Kavanagh, Leuluai, Marsh, Mullally, Owens, Pickersgill, Watts, White, Winterstein.
Salford squad: Patten, Broughton, Gleeson, Gibson, Williams, Holdsworth, Smith, Jewitt, Sidlow, James, Anderson, McPherson, Wild, Nero, Adamson, Owen, Howarth, Paleaaesina, Gledhill.