Vikings v Dragons: Teams

Widnes Vikings have their work cut out for them when they host Catalan Dragons at the Stobart Stadium on Sunday.

The Vikings are bottom of the Stobart Super League table while the French side have won nine of their 12 league outings.

Catalan ran riot on home soil when the pair met earlier in the campaign with Damien Cardace scoring four times as Trent Robinson's troops secured a crushing 76-6 win.

Widnes have goalkicking winger Patrick Ah Van back after missing the defeat at Castleford with a leg strain.

Second rower Simon Finnigan is out with a broken leg sustained in that match.

Anthony Mullally is back in contention after being dropped following his decision to reject the offer of a new contract.

Backlash

Vikings boss Dennis Betts is wary of a Dragons backlash after they were dumped out of the Carnegie Challenge Cup on home soil by Warrington last weekend.

"They'll come here and they'll be disappointed because they will have expected to win the Warrington game. They'll look to pick it up here." explained Betts.

"Across the board, they're a very dangerous side. The back-rowers in (Louis) Anderson and (Steve) Menzies are world class players.

"We've got to look at ourselves and prepare as well as we can prepare. We're looking around at the moment at the second half of the year and trying to pick up bodies."

Catalan centre Mathias Pala is poised to make his first appearance of the season in place of Daryl Millard, who loses his ever-present record.

Half-back William Barthau is also named in coach Robinson's initial squad.

Widnes squad: Ah Van, Allen, Cahill, Clarke, Cross, Davies, Dean, Flynn, Haggerty, Hanbury, Isa, Leuluai, Marsh, Mellor, Mullally, Phelps, Pickersgill, White, Winterstein.

Catalan Dragons squad: Greenshields, Pryce, Stacul, Bosc, Dureau, Henderson, Casty, Menzies, Anderson, Raguin, Simon, Fakir, Paea, Baitieri, Duport, Fisher, Barthau, Cardace, Pala.