York v Wigan: 21-man squads, injury update and TV details

York and Wigan have both announced their 21-man squads for Friday night’s Challenge Cup Third Round clash at the LNER Community Stadium (KO 7:45pm).

The City Knights have brushed both Sheffield Eagles and London Broncos aside so far in the competition but started their Championship campaign off with a 21-6 loss to Toulouse last week.

As one of the second tier’s top clubs, though, they’ll be hoping for a historic upset in what will be the first Challenge Cup fixture staged at their newly-built ground.

The Warriors, meanwhile, survived a first round scare against newly-promoted Leigh, winning 20-18, before a convincing 34-6 victory over Wakefield last week.

Their last Challenge Cup triumph came in 2013, while their were runners-up at Wembley four years later after being beaten by Hull FC.

The game will be available to watch live on YouTube and Facebook via The Sportsman, with coverage starting from around 7:45pm.

York City Knights

Teenage trio AJ Towse, Myles Harrison and Toby Warren are included by James Ford for the first time this season, with several experienced players missing out. Among them are Danny Kirmond, Chris Clarkson, Jack Teanby and Jordan Baldwinson, while Kriss Brining (hamstring) and Morgan Smith (ACL) are out injured. Marcus Stock returns from a hamstring problem, however halfback Riley Dean is unavailable as part of his loan deal from Warrington. 2015 Cup winner Adam Cuthbertson is also included.

21-man squad: 1 Matty Marsh, 3 Liam Salter, 4 Ryan Atkins, 5 Kieran Dixon, 6 Brendan O’Hagan, 8 Ronan Dixon, 9 Will Jubb, 12 Sam Scott, 13 Adam Cuthbertson, 16 Marcus Stock, 19 James Green, 20 Tim Spears, 21 Joe Porter, 22 Perry Whiteley, 23 Ben Jones-Bishop, 24 Dan Barcoe, 25 AJ Towse, 26 Myles Harrison, 27 Toby Warren, 28 Danny Washbrook, 30 Tyme Dow-Nikau.

Wigan Warriors

The Warriors name an unchanged squad. Jai Field (hamstring), Liam Marshall (ACL), Dom Manfredi (thumb) and Oliver Gildart (groin) remain unavailable through injury, while Bevan French is still getting up to match fitness. Youngsters Sam Halsall and James McDonnell retain their places with the aim of making their first appearances of the season.

21-man squads: 3 Zak Hardaker, 7 Thomas Leuluai, 8 Brad Singleton, 9 Sam Powell, 10 Joe Bullock, 11 Willie Isa, 12 Liam Farrell, 13 John Bateman, 14 Ollie Partington, 15 Morgan Smithies, 17 Tony Clubb, 19 Liam Byrne, 20 Harry Smith, 21 Ethan Havard, 22 Jake Bibby, 23 Mitch Clark, 25 Joe Shorrocks, 28 Sam Halsall, 29 James McDonnell, 30 Umyla Hanley, 31 Jackson Hastings.